Heroes
by Paladins
Summary: Sun Ce is saved by the people he was raised to hate, and a special connection to her just might save him during a war against the strongest man the world had ever known. CexDa YuxXiao AU
1. Chapter 1

_FYI all of this has been in **Better Half**. _

He opened his eyes, and realized three things. It was extremely dark, he couldn't feel half his body, and what he could feel hurt like hell. Experimentally he tried to move his arm and yelped when the pain made tears appear in his eyes. Taking deep breaths, he relaxed the arm and twitched the other one. It didn't hurt as bad. He raised his left arm to find he was buried by rubble.

"Great," he mumbled, pushed against a piece lightly. He somewhat hoped it would miraculously just all fall away, leaving him air to breath and room to move. The slab fell inward some, making him yelp again. Evening out his breathing again, since suffocating wasn't one of the most pleasant of deaths; he tapped the slab one more time. It didn't move. "Yeah, fantastic. This explains why I can't feel my legs."

He lay still for a moment; eyes closed, and tried to think. He didn't have the strength to hold the slab if it fell inwards onto him, and he didn't really think he could reach up and push out enough to make it fall back. But even then, it would land on his already numb legs. And his right arm still burned.

His brown eyes shot open when he heard a distant yell. Wetting his lips he gave a shout. It was worth the air if he could get out. He screamed again and again until his voice cracked. The sound of rubble moving made him smile, but the voice made him cry in relief. "Don't worry, I'll get you out," the man on the outside said, and more rubble was being moved.

The dangerous slab was pulled away, and the light blinded him for a moment at first, but the cool air made him give a small sigh. "Ce? You're so lucky, I don't know if it's fair." The man blinked to see. The face peering into the hole looked horrible. The once beautiful brown hair was matted, cut, and tangled. Blood and mud covered his pristine face, one eye swollen badly.

"I've never seen you this ugly, Yu," Ce said with a small chuckle.

"If not for the fact that I've already got you half out I think I'd leave you," Yu said, disappearing from the hole to move some more of the rubble away. Ce gave a small laugh, which died his chest clenched in pain.

"I take it we lost?"

"I don't know. I pulled myself out of a similar position you are in to find the area looking like this. I think, from the looks, neither side really won this battle, my friend."

"Help me stand if you can," Ce said as the last of the mess fell away, extending his good hand up. Yu took it and slung it over his shoulders and half lifted Ce. As they found balance, Ce glanced around. Fog, smog, or dirt filled the air, and he couldn't see far. Everything was destroyed. He could count the buildings that still stood, or parts still stood. Wood, iron, clay littered the ground. As he skimmed over it all he couldn't see a patch of the earth. Everything was covered in the destruction.

"We lost." Ce looked over to Yu, who nodded.

"If nothing else, we did not win." Ce shook his head, hand clutching Yu's shoulder. Neither voiced their concerns about getting out of the dead town, instead hobbling through the destruction together. They moved with a sense of hurry, not stopping when one would stumble but dragged them along until they again got footing. Both silently agreed they had to get out, that staying too long was out of the question.

As they made their way around a group of poles sticking from the ground, not looking at what was stabbed under them, they heard a shrill cry. Tense now, muscles straining further in their fear, they looked up. They slowed to a stop, mouths dropped. "The Wyrms are here," Ce mumbled, his grip on Yu's shoulder making his knuckles white. The six forms in the sky, barely visible between the dirt in the sky, looped and spiraled as they came closer, the cries growing louder. "Think we could ask them for a ride home?"

"I think we'd have a better chance of asking them to aim at us so the death would at least be painless," Yu said, voice deadpan. The slim line of hope was lost.

"If nothing else antagonize them to aim at us right?"

"You are very good at that," Yu conceded. Ce chuckled, shaking his head as he stared at the ground. He sighed then as he watched the little rocks fell from his brown hair and bounced down the little slope. "Come. Maybe we can continue on and not be spotted."

"Or Lu Bu will fly in and beat them all up only after swearing his undying loyalty to you," Ce said, smiling when Yu gave a small one breath laugh.

"That would be nice, though rather unwelcome." The two stilled when the flap of wings was heard, and then the gust of wind that caused the men to topple over with a crash. Turning, ignoring the pain, they looked up. The wyvern was massive as it perched upon one of the walls that still stood, its wings spread at full length for balance. Its horned head swung a little, the glowing mark upon its skull almost entrancing before its rider jerked the reins and it straightened.

"Holy shit," Ce murmured, Yu nodding. The wyrms mouth opened, wisps of green spreading from its mouth like smoke, the flames in its mouth lighting its black form eerily. The woman upon its back spoke, her words a messy language Ce and Yu did not understand. She raised her hand, the staff held above her head as her voice rose. The wyvern opened its mouth wider, the flames lighting the area now. "Holy shit," Ce repeated.

The wyvern clamped its mouth shut, the green wisps filling the area in a dance, and it gave a giant leap to another perch with a cry. Yu and Ce covered their ears, flinching. The red wyvern landed with more grace then the black one, its slender body more adapt to speed and lithe movements then the bulky black worm. It extended its long neck and gave a roar, spreading its wings to look larger and swung its spiked tail dangerously.

The two women atop the monsters started yelling at each other in the rough language, the worms becoming antsy as they roared back on forth. Ce, leaning towards Yu, pointed upwards. Yu craned his neck to see three more worms circling around the gathering. The two men glanced at each other both looking ready wet their pants as they inched away from the brewing fight. Their slow escape was stopped by the black whip like tail snapping at the ground near them, sending the rubble flying.

They covered their faces, giving a scream as they curled up. The women's screams got louder as the rubble smashed into the ground, and the pressure of wind informed the cowering men of a third wyrm landing. Unfolding his arms, Ce twisted the best he could to see the third, getting all he could from the deathly experience. The wyvern was white, speckles of red giving the worm more character then the others. Its long neck extended out to them, its large crystal blue eye causing both men to still in awe and fear.

Its rider joined in the argument, her hood almost falling in her dramatic movements as she argued. Finally the black wyvern hopped away some, the green wisps leaving a trail as it took off towards the sky. The men and the white wyvern rider watched as the red dragon reached towards the sky and gave a long shrill howl after it. "Why aren't we dead yet?" Ce asked quietly, praying the others couldn't hear him. Yu shrugged, still watching with wide eyes as the red wyvern turned to face them, the hooded lady holding her hand to her chest.

"You are… alright?" the soft voice said slowly, the words coming out unsure.

"Excuse me?" Ce said, eyebrows rose as high as they could go.

"Are you alright?" she said again, with a little more force. The woman on the white wyvern said something in the other language and the red rider waved it away. "The Black One did not inflict harm upon you?"

"I don't think she's fluent," Yu mumbled, eyes even wider then before.

"No?" Ce said slowly, as unsure as the woman.

"Very good."

"Yes?" Ce looked to Yu for help, though he doubted he'd get any. The woman on the white wyvern again said something, to which the red replied with a quick answer.

"You must come," the red rider said, turning back to the men.

"Come? Where? How?"

"I'm officially lost," Yu said, looking as bewildered as Ce sounded.

"No. You Zhou Yu yes?" the white rider interjected, sounding far too cheery to be somebody with her job. Both the men jumped and tried to turn, but ended up rolling in pain. "Oh no! They pain!" Ce forced himself to sit straight, and watched in awe as the red rider instructed the wyvern to move before them. If the situation had been any different, Ce would have laughed at watching the wyrm hop like a sparrow. Ce could no longer see the red rider, the giant reptile filling his view, and he was shocked to see her swing down around the side and land in a crouch.

The sound of walking made him crane his neck to turn, and the white hooded woman walked behind them, a bounce in her step. She said something again to the red girl, pointing at Yu. The red rider replied, sounding almost exasperated. "You ride with me," she said slowly, pointing to Ce. "He ride with her." She pointed from Yu to the white lady.

"What?" both men said together, again looking terrified.

"We ride. We take you to Wu land."

"Ride? On… them?" Yu floundered for the right, inoffensive word.

"No worries. She nice." The white lady clapped, making Ce doubt his earlier guess of her age.

"Yes. Prince and friend are safe now," the red lady nodded. "Come. You must be healed soon. Dangerously pained." She walked forward, reaching for Ce's arm. Ce, in shock, could only comply until the pain hit again. He fell, making the lady fall as well with a yelp. He tensed as the wyvern tensed.

"Alright?" the white lady asked, stepping towards them. The red lady replied in her language, sitting up under Ce's arm with a sigh. The white lady put her hands on her hips and looked to Yu. "I doubt I carry you. Big man," she pointed to him, "little lady" she pointed to herself. Yu simply nodded, still looking dazed.

The red lady stood, untangling herself. Ce trying to help got a look under her hood. A beautiful oval face, framed perfectly by almost black hair had him loosing his breath. Her red lips were slightly parted; her big doe brown eyes scrutinizing her cloak made him suddenly feel very self conscience. He did remember to avert his eyes as she straightened, not wanting her to know what he saw.

"Please, stay brave," she said, turning to him. He nodded, not trusting his tongue. She then nodded to the lady in white and then turned to the Wyvern. She spoke in her language to it, as did the lady in white, and the worms gave a growl from deep in their chests before hopping around to a sage position. From there they lowered themselves to lie on the ground. "We need speed now, please." The lady in red grabbed his arm and tried to support him as she directed him to the Wyvern.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," Ce mumbled, watching the dragon with wide eyes and quick breaths, concentrating on that and not the pain. Trying to crawl up onto the beast was painful. The strap was thin that wrapped around its chest to hold the small saddle, and Ce wasn't sure how to pull himself up. With the ladies less then fluent speech he ended up leaning on her minutes as they tried to figure it out.

A crash had them looking back to see the white lady lying on the ground, groaning as Yu leaned against the Wyvern, looking absolutely terrified. The red lady shouted something, and when there was a mumbled reply she went back to trying to instruct Ce. "She's okay?" he asked, interrupting her.

"Yes-" she was interrupted again, but by a roar. They all looked up to see the other four flying low. The lady in red said something that sounded dangerous in her language and shouted to her worm. The white lady jumped to her feet and did the same. The dragons sat up with might roars, heads swooping towards the couples. Ce and Yu screamed as the monsters neared tripped them. Lying on his stomach, Ce stared at the forehead of the dragon, holding onto one of its horns and no longer thinking.

Yu clung to the white wyverns head, holding onto the large goat like horns of the dragon, eyes closed and praying. The girls swung up to the saddles and the wyverns launched into the air. The four other worms started to swoop over the battlefield, their flames lighting the battleground. The wyverns furiously flapped their wings, hoping to escape the heat. The girls sat in the saddles, urging their worms on in their language, glancing back momentarily to watch the magnificent display as the men prayed on the wyverns heads.

The wyverns neared each other, allowing the girls to converse as both guys looked to each other for help. Ways away, the wyverns again landed, hopping until they found their balance. Lowering their heads, they let the men slide off and onto their butts. "I think," Ce started, "it'd have been easier on my heart to of just stayed under the pile of rubble."

"I'll keep that in mind next time," Yu mumbled, laying on his back and covering his eyes. "I'm so lucky I didn't drink anything before the battle."

"That's a plus." Ce nodded. "I still hurt though."

"I've gone numb. I think it's the shock."

"Alright?" the white lady bounced before them, rocking on her feet.

"Why the hell did you save us?" Ce asked, trying to run his good hand through his destroyed hair.

"Paid lots of gold to find Prince of Wu. Friend come along because we assume you decide not come without friend," the red lady said, more fluent then the lady in white apparently, stepping before them.

"Thank you," Yu said, not sitting up.

"You are welcome," the white lady said.

"Please rest. Me and her discuss plan now." The red lady turned to the other and the two went off in their language, probably trying to figure out how to get the two men home. Ce watched them for a moment, particularly the lady in red before groaning. Yu let his arm fall away from his eyes and turned his head to look at him. Ce started to peel away his armor, grinding his teeth.

"Do you know how freakishly lucky we are?" Yu asked, eyeing the shoulder guard that landed near his head from where Ce tossed it.

"Some would say annoyingly freakish. I say I got skills. Or connections." Ce pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it into the pile. "You don't happen to carry bandages do you?"

"It's already scabbed over. You just need to pray it doesn't get infected." Yu looked to the sky, trying to ignore the pillar of smoke in the corner of his vision.

"I wonder how Pops paid for it."

"How do you know it was Lord Jian?"

"I'm being optimistic." Yu didn't respond. Ce fell silent as well, and started to roll up his pants. He needed to see the damage.

The fire crackled before them, reminding the men all too much of the scene they had fled. The white lady had stayed with them, her Wyvern curled with its head resting on its tail to protect them from wind. The red lady had flown off towards camp to tell the soldiers where they needed to go to pick up Ce and Yu. The lady now hummed as she leaned against the wyvern, hood still up. She had bandaged them both, using up all her and the other lady's bandages.

Ce had never before seen the wyrms, not many had, and had been just as surprised that the rider was a small girl then a large man. The wyrms were a species of dragon that lived farther in the mountains. The story went that humans had made a bond with them, and thus the species had been interlinked to the humans of the area for eons. The riders now made money by destroying battlefields, burning the remains forever. From all the stories the riders were none too nice about it. Half of the stories Ce had heard made them out to be as monstrous as demons. Much like the black wyvern rider.

There were many ups though, the whole reason they were paid to do so was to keep away the Scavenger Demons. Dangerous beasts that loved to feed and live in areas like destroyed battlegrounds. They find the grounds by the smell left behind, and in groups were even more dangerous then alone. The wyrms and their riders burned the grounds to keep the species away, as well as to help the vegetation. The only real downfall was that everything was lost, from valuables to survivors. That and their prices sometimes became steep.

Steeper still were their prices for other things. The Wyrms could be hired to fight, or scout areas but the prices were amazingly high. They claimed that they did not want to be apart of the petty wars of the lowlanders, but if the price was right they could not refuse. Ce was unsure how anybody got them the message quick enough to save him, unless he had been under the rubble longer then he had imagined, but knew he'd have to thank the person face to face. Slowly, Ce lowered himself to the ground and onto his back. He closed his eyes with a smile, thinking back to the pretty face he had seen under the hood. It was a pleasant, most welcome surprise.

--

Ce leaned on the window, staring up at the rising moon. It had been almost one year exact since he had been saved by the Wyrm Riders. Half the time he wanted to say it had all been a dream, but the scars and long nights told him different. While the scars weren't bothersome, she often found her way into his dreams. Ce wasn't sure if he looked forward to the nights or not.

"The wyrm isn't going to come," a bitter voice said, and Ce pushed away from the window to see Yu leaning against the wall. His arms crossed, the strategist stared at the ground. His long time best friend was still healing from the experience. While Ce's hair hadn't been long, and so not much had been damaged, Yu's hair was barely reaching passed his shoulders anymore. Some of the hair had to be cut because the tangles were too bad, and some because his hair had been burnt. The smell had followed Yu for weeks. Ce almost felt bad for him.

"Almost as likely as a speckled wyrm dropping by huh?" Ce said lightly, stretching.

"Just as likely." Yu had seen the white Wyrm Rider, since the young girl had done little to try and hide her face. From being a klutz and very animated, Ce had seen her face as well more then once during the night.

"I can't believe we're pining over girls we've only seen once. How shallow does that make us?" Ce said with a laugh, running a hand through his hair.

"I do believe that would fall under horribly shallow and vain."

"And since its lasted passed a year, I'd say we're unfixable."

"I'd bet on that." Yu looked up with a grin. Ce laughed again, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. "I'd also bet that we're fools."

"I already knew I was a fool. A vain, shallow fool is new to me though."

"We should get some sleep."

"Yeah, I'll get right on that." Ce rolled his eyes.

"Tomorrow will be a long day. We are supposed to be hunting down Lu Bu."

"Well, I'm going to go hunt me down a snack." Ce waved to his friend, who shook his head, and slowly walked towards the kitchen. It was going to be a long night, no doubt.

--

Ce stood a few steps behind his father, looking down at the man before them. The man was tall and lanky, the white cloak large. His face was like leather, but the laugh lines gave him a kindly feel. His grey eyes reminded Ce more of a blind man, but the way the scrutinized the area proved that was out of the question. His hair was long; falling down to his bony knees, and was the same color as the cranes. The man gave a low, extravagant bow before he spoke.

"Lord of Wu, I must apologize for this surprise visit."

"It is of no problem. Surely whatever you bring cannot be more vexing then tracking down Lu Bu, or putting up with Yuan Shao," Jian said, keeping his tone even and polite.

"Then you remember me? I am pleased."

"I could not forget the man who saved my boys."

"All I did was deliver the message, good lord," the man said, giving another bow.

"I hate to be rude, but this has caught my curiosity and everybody else's here, what is it you want? Rarely does the messenger, the payment receiver, come to the doorsteps when there is no need for the services of the Wyrms."

"A good question. A question fitting of a good answer." The man straightened and smoothed out his clothes. "I am sure, as a well informed man, you have noticed the rise in activity in the Scavenger Demons, as your people so like to call them. It has worried our Powers."

"Powers?" Ce asked in a voice he had thought was quiet and unheard.

"The Lords of our land would be the easiest way to explain them," the man said, glancing over at the young man. Ce flushed and looked to the ground. "Since they have been given the task of fighting the Scavenger Demons for all of you, the new movements of the spawn have them vexed. As a precautionary measure, the Powers have made a new order. If the Lords of the Lands permit, three Wyrm Riders shall be stationed in the lands. Most preferably in the capitals, since the movements mimic something akin to army and scouting like, so as the Riders may protect the figure heads and beckons of hope to the humans of these lands."

"Wyrm Riders here?" Jian said, taken back at the offer.

"They would be, mostly, under your rule. Though your affairs should not be theirs, such as your wars, but they will watch for the Scavenger Demons. Protect your lands from them." The man shrugged. "It is your choice, Lord of Wu. If you do not want them, then they shall not stay here."

Jian stilled and glanced around the area. Most around had stilled, the soldiers gathered completely silenced. The tension in the air was thick. The Wyrm Riders were hardly looked upon with kindness, but could Wu afford to disrespect the Wyrm Riders? Jian took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and came upon his decision. "I do need to speak to my advisors first. Such a large decision can not be made by me alone. Even as a lord, I am not perfect. But yours and theirs journey must have been long. You and your riders and more then welcome to stay until a decision is reached."

It was a politically nice way of saying that they would be allowed to stay. Jian just had to appear formal and consult others before making such a decision. Nobody with brains would challenge an army of Wyrm Riders. The man knew this, it was in his smile, but he nodded. "I will not stay. I do have places to be, unfortunately. But the riders shall stay until you make your decision. All three are fluent enough in your language." The man looked to the sky, still giving a small smile, and everybody looked up as well. They started out as circling specks, but the closer they came to the ground, the more shape they took. The wind was painful, and some of the soldiers ran for cover.

The first to land was massive, and no wyvern. It was smaller then the average dragon, but much bulkier then a wyvern with four legs. Its face was square, eyes seemingly a little too small for its body. The vermilion scales down its body were more like spikes then scales all down its body. Long spiraled horns, with likeness to a unicorns shape, protruded on either side of the dragons jaw, curving just slightly down. The monster landed mostly on the cobblestone walkway, the weight cracking a few but mostly just scratching the stones.

When that wyrm was situated and done moving, the next one landed. This one caught Ce's breath, and besides him he could hear the strangled gasp of Yu. A speckled white wyvern awkwardly landed in the court yard, flapping its wings to try and stay balanced. If the speckles and goat horns didn't give the wyvern away, the cheerful giggle as a girl cloaked in white swooping down did. Ce glanced at Yu, to see him staring in slack jaw awe, before looking to the third with hope. He forgot how to breathe when the long red form twirled to a graceful landing on the opposite side of the massive dragon.

Ce made a move towards them, down the steps, but stopped remembering his place. He took a glance at his father, who was still staring with awe. "Pops," Ce started slowly, taking a glance at Yu, "should I go greet the… riders while you finish up your discussion with this man?" Ce hoped that was tactful.

"Yes," Jian replied. His voice was quiet, still in awe, and slow. Blinking a few times, he turned in time to see the smile on Ce's face and him waving to Yu to race down the steps. Shaking his own head, the older man turned back to his guest.

Ce slowed to a stop, slightly out of breath as he reached the bottom. Yu stopped beside him, pushing some of the hair that had fallen out of his little ponytail. The two walked up to the wyrms and their riders, who had dismounted, and gave a bow. Ce watched with fascination as all three kissed their knuckles and gave a deep flowing bow. The five all stood in awkward silence. The white rider fidgeted a bit before walking behind the vermilion one to the other lady. She, leaning on her shoulder, mumbled something to her.

"Shush," the red rider said, lightly pushing her away. She then turned back to Ce and Yu. "We thank you for accepting our…" she started, but floundered for a word. Her accent had lessened, and the words were less harsh now.

"Protection," the third rider supplied, his voice a deep and baritone like.

"Yes. Thank you," the red rider said with a nod. "We thank you. I am called Qiao Da." She gave another bow, kissing her knuckle and all, before pushing away her hood. She hadn't changed much in the year, if Ce's memory served.

"I'm Qiao Xiao!" the white rider said, bouncing forward and pushing her hood away. "A pleasure meeting you it is!" Da corrected her in whispers, making Xiao flush and chew on her bottom lip. Her features had matured some in the year, but still held her child like innocence.

Ce glanced to the man, expecting a name. He grunted, and Ce spotted a slouch in his posture under the cloak. The man reached out, his hand was covered in a fur glove, and untied his cloak. It slipped away, but Ce was more worried about what the man had to say. "One hell of a greeting," the man said, voice gruff but otherwise gave no indication that it wasn't his natural language. The rider slipped past Ce, and the anguish filled battle cry had Ce cursing as well.

The prince spun around to see Ling Tong, a young soldier who had joined the ranks but a few battles ago swinging blindly for the rider, who was making a point to direct him away from Ce and the girls. "I'll kill you! You'll pay for my father's death!" Tong cried out, kicking for the riders face. The rider caught his foot and gave a sneer as he prepared to counter attack. Tong however, wrenched his foot from his grasp and swung his fist. The rider dodged, flinching when Tong caught some of his spiked hair. The riders hopped back some, before diving in with a swing of his own.

_Alright, here is the start of Wyrms for everybody. I've got it basically planned out. Do Not, I repeat, Do Not expect chapters to be this long again. It happens rarely. Oh, and my English Teacher is being a real tyrant so things could be slow (between planning, WO2, and school) But I seem to do better when I got something up and going._


	2. Chapter 2

Da, behind Ce, moved to near the fray. Ce stopped her by grabbing her upper arm. The third rider seemed to be trying to keep Tong away from them. That, or Ce was over thinking things. A group of soldiers had gathered around, but nobody was moving to stop Tong. It showed how far their hate went. Ce glanced down, Da and Xiao glaring up at him, and he craned his neck to look at Yu.

"Tong!" Yu cried out, and Ce moved in to grab the boy. Tong faltered just a hair in his swing, and Ce used the opportunity to twist his arm behind his back.

"That," Ce hissed, "was entirely out of line, Ling Tong." Tong scowled, before stopping his resisting all together. Ce jerked him around and into the crowd of soldiers that had formed to root him on. Lu Meng grabbed him, dragging him away with an expression full of rage. Watching them go for a moment, nodding to Meng, Ce then turned back to the rider. "My sincerest of apologies. He will be suitably punished for the outbreak."

"Do what you will. I ain't worried about the boy. I've been rushed by more fearsome of beasts," the male rider shrugged, his grin cocky. "I am called Gan Ning."

"A pleasure to meet you all, then," Ce said. The two girls quickly made their way to Ning, fussing over him in their language. He shrugged them off, scowling at them. They quieted down, Xiao glaring up at Ning with her hands on her hips. She had the final word, if his scoff wasn't counted.

"It will not happen again," Ce put in, their distress bothering him.

"We expect the malice," Ning said with a shrug, the two girls nodding solemnly.

"It will not happen again," he said again, Yu nodding. The group again fell silent, until Jian walked over to the group. He looked each of the riders over, surprised at Da and Xiao, and then looked over to Ce and Yu.

"It was Tong?"

"Yeah."

"How unfortunate," Jian sighed before turning back to them. "I have rooms made for you three, but I have no idea where there would be room for your… dragons to be comfortable."

"They shall find a place within the outskirts. Fret not about them. They do prefer the open to a barn," Da said.

"Yep. They've probably already got an area in mind." Xiao giggled a bit.

"That is alright? I would have thought you would have wanted them close," Jian said, looking again to the massive beasts.

"They shall be close enough."

"Alright then. If you would give the servants your things, they shall take them to your rooms. I, unfortunately, cannot give you a grand tour of the castle. Ce, my heir and eldest son, however will. I do hope he will suffice." Ce rolled his eyes.

"Whatever," Ning mumbled, pulling off his gloves. He threw them in the bag at his hip, and then turned to his Wyrm. The two girls followed suit, talking quietly in their guttural language. They then pulled off their bags, one each, and walked back to the maids. The Wyrms flapped their wings violently, each giving a screech before taking off into the sky one by one. When the dust settled, the only thing left of the dragons was the ruined cobblestones and shaking trees.

"That's never going to get old," Yu said quietly next to Ce, staring up into the sky with a slack jaw. Ce nodded in agreement.

Jian was quicker to compose of himself, fixing his clothes with a cough. "Again, my apologies. But the maids will escort you to the main hall, and from there Ce shall give you three the grand tour of the Wu Estate," Jian said. He gave a bow before taking his leave. Ce and Yu watched as the trio followed the maids, shortly behind Jian. As the crowd dispersed, the gossip mill already starting, Ce turned to Yu.

"Hey," he caught Yu's attention, "don't you feel… weird around them?"

"This is why I let you do the talking." Yu nodded.

"As much as I wanted to see her… them again, it feels odd."

"After a year of pining, finally getting what you want, I assume would feel weird. A feeling of content, when not felt for so many months, is foreign probably."

"Content…" Ce trailed off. "More like, I feel whole again." Yu didn't respond, simply shrugged and started towards the steps. They had no idea when the Riders would arrive to the hall, and it wouldn't due to make them wait.

The Riders came out with a change of clothes, Xiao already complaining that it was hot. Ning was topless, his vibrant tattoos catching the eyes that his chiseled physique didn't. A sword was strapped to his waist, curved in shape, and a red headband held a red hawks feather in it. Da wore a simple skirt and shirt, her sleeves short. Her shoes had a slight heel on it, but added nothing to her height. Her dark hair was pulled up off her neck. Xiao wore some shorts and a shirt, hair in a high ponytail, and boots. The lack of cape put the two men in awe. While they had known the Riders were lithe, neither had expected the girls that small.

Ce took them through the tour, from the rooms, to the kitchen, to the library and on. He paid special attention to Da, of course. But she stayed reserved, and aloof. Her answers were short, and she avoided eye contact. Still, Ce noticed what she liked. He couldn't say why, but he had a feeling that the library had made her happy, as well as their illustrious garden. It was easier to tell in the garden. She stared more, and a small smile graced her face.

Xiao went on to tell about how in their homes it often snowed most of the year. The girls probably didn't see such greenery often. Yu made an effort to point things out to Xiao, grinning like a fool as she bounced around. Ning had disappeared then. He had said something about a nap and walked off. Ce couldn't say he missed him. Neither of the two, however, missed the scowl Ning had thrown them before walking off down the trail in a lazy stroll. Ce had turned to Yu, rubbing the back of his neck with upturned eyebrows.

"No idea," Yu mumbled back. "It would be much easier if I understood them, as a whole, then trying to figure out one man first."

"Well, we now he ain't going to spill," Ce whispered back. A squeal from Xiao shut them up. They quickly spun around to see Xiao being harassed by a bee, Da trying to slap it away. Their next stop had been the infirmary, where Xiao got a patch for the giant red bump on her wrist where the bee had left its mark. Da didn't leave her side, and Ce then assumed that they didn't have bees up north either.

_This one is a bit shorter. And I'm not sure I like it too much. Its hard to keep it simple in one person's point of view. I prefer ominiscent P.O.V. So it'll probably stop just being in Ce's. But I don't want to give away too much of the Riders Culture by putting it in their point of view. And, a quick question, is Gan Ning alright people? He's not really big yet, but so far is he alright? In character or whatever? Help appreciated. _


	3. Chapter 3

"Well, we now he ain't going to spill," Ce whispered back. A squeal from Xiao shut them up. They quickly spun around to see Xiao being harassed by a bee, Da trying to slap it away. Their next stop had been the infirmary, where Xiao got a patch for the giant red bump on her wrist where the bee had left its mark. Da didn't leave her side, and Ce then assumed that they didn't have bees up north either.

Gan Ning made his way through the garden. He had mentioned a nap before leaving, and was willing to make good on his promise. But he wasn't about to sleep just anywhere. His room hadn't been bad. Better then anything he had back at the Home. But it was stuffy, and nothing like he was used to. Which was up in a tree, or in a cave. Ning was unusual, being male and had a four legged dragon choose him. The Powers tried to keep him out of sight, with stupid little scouting like missions.

It allowed him the connection with Zou Ci, which could have been looked at as good or bad as the case may be. He constantly had to be in contact for orders. Links were too personal though, and at times made it awkward with the old man. Scoffing, Ning stretched his muscled arms over head and looked to the sky. This was going to be the first time he'd be able to show his face, and challenge the Wendigos. Or Scavenger Demons, as the locals stupidly called them. Ning admittedly looked forward to his first big fight against the monsters; there was no reason for him to fear them. It was his time with the Wu that pissed him off. Already, he could see problems risings. Problems the girls had yet to see, which was a problem for him. He had been left to watch them, knowing the humans customs better then the girls.

Ning found a nice tree, and relaxed against it. Closing his eyes once more, he touched his link with Conqueror, his dragon. Images of a marsh like land flooded his mind, and a feeling of hunger. Grinning, the Rider allowed himself to dose off for a little bit. The girls couldn't destroy everything during his nap. And if they did, it was the local's loss. Not his.

Ce, next to his father, glanced down at the Shu messenger. All the scout had to tell them was that Shu received the protection of some riders as well. Shu either didn't know anything about the whereabouts of Lu Bu, or didn't deem Wu worthy of that information. Covering up a yawn as they went through the formalities, Ce skimmed the hall. Quan, his brother, was paying close attention to the scout. Shang Xiang, his little sister, was looking out the window. She was probably half listening to the scout.

The messenger left, being led to a room to rest, and Jian rubbed his temple. "Since Shu gained Riders as well, we are going to assume Wei and Yuan Shao did as well. The Riders then must be very worried about the Scavenger Demons."

"So, what are going to do about it Pops?" Ce asked.

"We don't know a lot about these demons. I hate to leave the safety of my people in the hands of these Riders, but what can I do?"

"They've been scouting regularly," Shang Xiang said, rising from her seat. Everybody knew that though. While their comings and goings weren't as destructive as they were the first time, they did leave scars on the land. Not to mention few missed the spectacular sight.

"Yes. I shall have to call a meeting with them to check on their findings. Also to see what I can do to help protect my people." He looked up and sighed again. "How have they been doing? Do you three know?"  
Quan shrugged, but Shang Xiang was quicker to speak. "They're always alone. Or with each other. I never see them talking to other people. They don't look unhappy though."

Quan nodded. "I have yet to speak to them myself, Father, but they only seem to interact with Tong, outside of themselves. Of course, Tong is usually the one to incite the argument or fight, but I do believe that is beside the point."

"Those interactions really must stop," Jian mumbled, before continuing. "In any case, as the Royal Family, we must see to it that their time spent here is enjoyable. You three are supposed to see to their needs." All three nodded. Jian then waved them away. Bowing, they departed into the halls.

"Okay, so now we are the Riders babysitters?" Quan asked, glaring at the floor. His hair was a darker shade then Ce's, and his skin a lighter. He was gaining muscle, slowly growing into his place in the family.

"Think of it as a super secret mission, Quan," Shang Xiang said, a bounce in her step. "If we can get the Riders to like us, we can get information. Like about their home, or about the Demons." Her soft brown hair was fanned out, her green eyes sparkled with youth. She was the shortest of the three, coming up to Ce's shoulder, but she still held the spirit of the Tiger.

"Or we could just try to make friends," Ce said, almost snapping at her.

"Oh, the girls are the ones that saved you, huh Ce?"

"IF you two need alternate reasons to be nice to the Riders, at least pick something important. Like why they do what they do." Ce, still not looking at them, turned down a hall towards the kitchens.

"You pissed him off," Quan mumbled.

Ce walked passed the kitchens and towards the stairs. From there, he found Yu's study. While he didn't particularly want to put up with Yu either, he needed the silence that was usually present in Yu's study. Yu had been upset lately as well. While Ce was irritable, Yu almost pouted. He stayed in his study for most of the day and ate little. The maids had been mumbling about it lately. Opening the door, and being careful not to slam it, Ce walked past the startled Yu to sit in his customary seat by the window.

"Can I help you Ce?" Yu mumbled, setting down his paintbrush.

"Shang Xiang said something I really didn't like, and I needed the silence. I can usually be sure your study is silent." Yu nodded his head in understanding and went back to his papers. Ce stared out the window, skimming over the gardens. He needed to find something, though he wasn't sure what he was looking for. He started to grow anxious as he skimmed. A couple of sparrows took off to the sky, and he glanced to his left to see what startled the birds.

Da and Xiao walked down the trail. Xiao had a bounce in her step, making her ponytail bounce wildly. She ran ahead a little of Da, spinning before falling over with giggles. Da walked to her, extending a hand to help her up. Da then dusted Xiao off as the younger sister of the two righted her hair. Xiao then pointed, jumping a bit. Glancing, Ning walked into view. Xiao bounded up to him, probably telling him about her day. Da herself walked to him. Ce gave a smile, watching the interaction. Slowly, he relaxed a bit.

Yu stopped his working at the giggle. He closed his eyes for a bit, and the tiniest of smiles was on his face. It took him a moment, but then his eyes snapped open and he stared at Ce. When Ce only watched out the window, smiling himself, Yu cleared his throat. Ce jumped and turned to him, eyes wide. "What?"

"Ce," Yu sighed. "We've got to figure these girls out. I think, what's caught our attention about them… for the last year… was our curiosity. The mystery that surrounds them. We need to figure them out, so we can stop with this foolishness." Ce didn't respond. Instead he turned his head and stared out the window with a deep frown. Slowly, after watching them, or specifically Da, he gave a nod.

Da smiled fondly as Xiao told Ning all about how she fell in the pond that morning. He nodded, trying not to laugh too hard at the younger girl's expense. Ning had always been a sort of hero back at the Home. It had always been that the Dragons chose their riders at a certain age, opening up the link between the two and granting the child with powers. It was usually young girls who were chosen, as the Wyverns would have problems with big burly men on their backs. With girls, or women, the Wyverns could be far more agile and quicker.

Ning's dragon, Conqueror was not as different as most assumed. Far from full Dragon, Conqueror was only about one fourth true blooded Dragon. But he had thicker muscle, and four legs like most Dragons, just smaller. Much smaller. He was actually smaller then the Wyverns. A Dragon was measured usually by the size of his neck or tail, depending of course on who you asked. The neck was more customary though. But Ning was renowned for being chosen by a Dragon. The Home thought he was the greatest thing. Partially being because it was full of women for the most part.

He had been given special training, since as a Dragon Conqueror could take more damage and do a little more. Ning himself had also been given ground combat training. Most Riders were good only with a bow, or sometimes magic if they had that gift as well. Being teamed up with him in the mission had been a great honor, though she wondered if Xiao fully grasped that.

"So you made friends with the frogs or the fish?" he asked Xiao, the toothpick in his mouth slightly bouncing as he spoke. He spoke in the local's language, making it a little difficult to communicate as quickly as Xiao wanted to. But he was determined to get the girls to speak properly.

"The fish. The frogs didn't like me so much. They hopped away." Xiao grinned up at him. He laughed, and then turned to Da.

"Good afternoon, Ning," she said with the customary bow of her people. She kissed her knuckle and pressed it to her forehead before giving a sweeping bow. It was the way to greet those of higher power or station then oneself.

Ning, however, scoffed and waved it away. "I've been telling you Da. We're equals. Quite with all that crap. While I am admittedly awesome, our stations are the same." He forced her to straighten.

"My apologies," she said. After a moment of silence, even Xiao didn't say anything, she decided to continue. "On our scoutings, Ning, why have we not found anything? Myself and Beauty tried to find what you said the Wendigo would leave." Xiao nodded. Failing terrified both girls.

"The Wendigo ain't stupid, Da. They know people are watching them. We've always been watching the Wendigo. We just have to keep searching. Look for the details. Once we know the land more, it'll be easy. We'll see what's odd about it. Conqueror and them have been flying on their own, getting used to the land during their hunts. They'll know the land, and convey it to us. It'll be fine. The Wendigo don't stand any sort of chance." Da nodded, still frowning however.

Da and Xiao had never really faced a Wendigo. They had spent an entire summer destroying the grounds that would attract the beasts, but fighting them was unheard of. The Wendigo often tried to avoid the Riders, for obvious reasons. Xiao, however, was not one to dwell on the bad for long periods of time. She grabbed Da's arm and pointed to a tree. Apples hung from its branches, and it was clear what Xiao wanted. "I don't know if its aloud, Xiao."

"Does it really matter? Ask for forgiveness Da, not permission." Ning and Xiao grinned. Da frowned as the two raced to the tree. Ning, far more agile and used to such things as trees not to mention being taller, grabbed a branch and jumped up into the tree. Xiao followed closely behind, crawling more then jumping. Up in the branches, she called out to Da.

"Come on sister! Fun it is! You must smile more!" She waved her forward. Da shook her head, smiling, and walked towards the tree.

_Xiao has yet to grasp the complexity of grammar in another language. She'll probably sound like Yoda for some time (until she spends more time with Yu or I forget to make her talk funky). I'm still worried about Gan Ning. But otherwise, its all coming along as I've planned. As I've said in Better Half, I'm getting busy, so updates might actually get slower (if possible). Modern one won't be up for a length of time, I'm willing to bet._

_And, because I have no shame on the internet, I'm telling everybody here to. A little piece is up for adoption in Better Half. I don't have time for it, but would like to see it written (even though I'm sure it'll be different then what I would write, cause people are awesome like that) Latest one up.  
_


	4. Chapter 4

Ce stood on the stairs, watching the sky for the Riders to arrive back. They had been at the estate for a few months, and nothing had changed. Ce was ready to pull his hair out. Tong was still jumpy, though he made a point to avoid the girls if glares and snide comments didn't count. Ning was still anywhere but where somebody was looking for him at, and he still didn't seem to particularly like anybody. Da and Xiao were still a large mystery that refused to be unraveled.

Ce couldn't explain it, and the only one who even remotely understood what he spoke of was Yu. Ce would often be walking, or calming down after a training, only to smell some tea and musk. He would see the large window of the library, and some of the rows of books. Sometimes it was the garden, the large fountain in the center, or smells the food in the kitchen. Half the time in the last months, he knew what was for dinner before he got to the table. It all pointed to Da, for when he would ask she would be in the rooms. But, after long discussions with Yu it only seemed to happen when they were calm. It was unnerving to say the least, but never did it upset Ce.

Scratching the back of his neck, glancing to Quan who was leaning against the railing, he gave a sigh. People had been noticing that he had… something for the Rider. It was easy to pass of as being the heir to Wu, and he had to act nicely to the girls. But that wouldn't always work. Quan especially was keeping an eye on him. The younger brother was untrusting to say the least. Nor did he adapt well to change. The wind changed then, with that thought. At first it was barely noticeable, but both brothers looked to the sky to see the shapes spiraling.

Neither of them moved until the wyrms were back in the air, flying to whatever nests they had made in the outlands. They made their way down the stairs two at a time, and Ce couldn't stop the smile when he came upon the girls. Xiao was bouncing around, speaking in the gibberish that was their language to both of them. Her face was red, from the wind or something else Ce couldn't guess. Da was smiling as well, a rarity for all to see, as she spoke softly back to Xiao. Ning however caught their attention. He was favoring his shoulder, and when he took off his jacket the white bandaged speckled with red made the two hiss. "What happened?" he asked, coming to a stop.

"We finally caught up to the Wendigo's!" Xiao cheered, clapping her hands. "A most thrilling fly!"

"Ning, though-"

"The girls took care of me," he said with a shrug.

"What are they that they hit you on your Wyrm?" Quan hissed, glaring at his shoulder.

"They've gotten… organized," Ning shrugged tenderly. "They started flinging rocks at us in the sky-"

"We were flying low," Xiao butted in.

"Yeah," he glared at her, "and I fell from Conquerors' back. It took some fighting to get back on him."

"And all you got was a cut?" Ce said, suddenly feeling a lot better about the Scavenger Demons. Except the look the three gave him sobered him up real quick. "Sorry."

"The Wendigo are nothing to laugh at," Da snapped, cheeks turning red. "They are… have terrorized the Wyrm and Dragon population for… a many years. They are dangerous and beastly with strength to tear out trees from the roots and the speed to keep up with a dragon in flight! They breathe the elements and have no sense of pain. They are not and never should be taken lightly!" She glared up at him, something akin to worry flashing across her beautiful features. Quickly though she caught herself and stepped back and stared hard down at the ground. Xiao chewed on her bottom lip, glancing around at everybody before smiling.

"We killed a few!" she said with a hopeful tone. "Ning killed many with Conqueror," she struggled with his name, "but Da and me have now experience against them!"

Quan glared at her, silencing the young girl, before turning to Ning. "We will want a full report on the happenings tomorrow." Ning just glared back at him, stepping forward to block Xiao from him. Ce grabbed Quan's shoulder, sensing the revolt from Ning under such the authority in Quan's tone. The two were surely going to clash eventually. Ce glanced once more at Da, his gut doing flips, before stepping to the side.

"I think," he said slowly, getting all their attentions, "it has been a long night. Ning, you should get yourself checked. But tomorrow. Tonight, we all need sleep."

***

Zhen Ji walked along the cobblestone walkway towards the outer gate, making her way to the giant wall the protected the castle. As more then one man had told her, she was the personification of beauty. Her face a perfect oval, and pale as the moon. Her lips the color of rubies. She had almond shaped eyes, the same color as summer grass. Her hourglass figure was always accented, even with the layers she wore for the northern cold. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the light natural curls bouncing with each practiced step.

She made her way passed the soldiers on watch, ignoring their all too familiar lingering stares. She was far too used to being the center of attention, of earning the stares of anybody within a certain radius. She was beautiful. Smiling coyly, to which a younger soldier blushed and looked away, she hid a giggle behind a gloved hand and reached the look out point she wanted. Leaning against the stone wall, ignoring the cold, she closed her eyes and opened her mind outward.

Images of the barren snow covered land filtered through. The empty trees and giant mountains. The cold blue sky and the icy clouds she could almost fell against herself. Opening her eyes, she looked up. There was no word in their language that was a direct translation to what her Wyrms name was, but she had taken to letting them call her Fairy. It was the easiest. The dragon perched itself on a rock, almost eye to eye with Ji.

The large eyes were the same color as a peacock's neck. Her neck was long and slender, as was most of her body. Being a black opal color, with the ripples of colors on the black scales, when she tucked in her legs to fly she looked simple marvelous in the silvery moonlight. Ji opened her arms, and the Wyrm gently leaned forward and she rested her body on Fairy's nose. The Wyrm was warm, even in the cold of the north. The puffs of air rustled her pants, and Ji gave a content sigh as Fairy started to hum.

She was interrupted by the image of the Prince of Wei walking up the steps. Ji opened her eyes and didn't miss the laughter in her dragon's expression before Fairy pulled away and turned her head around to look away from the castle. Cao Pi made his way towards her, ignoring the soldiers with his usual cocky grin. Ji gave him her usual coy smile as she rested a hand on her hip. The Prince had taken a liking to her, which wasn't unusual though unexpected. She had not expected such a _warm_ welcome when she had come. His father and the Prince had both liked the Riders.

Cao Cao was obviously an opportunist with great ambition. To him, she was another source of power. After realizing what exactly the man was, it was not hard to come by why he had come to treat her abnormally. But Pi had been harder to decipher, which really only made him that much more fun. He was a handsome man, with short hair and calculating eyes. Like his father he had great ambitions and was logical in his cruel methods. Which probably was why they did not get along as well as most fathers and sons did.

It was difficult to hide things from him, and he was rather curious about her homeland. Not that she told him much, but he was persistent. He had caught on, in the months of flirting and the cat and mouse games they played that something was amiss. Surely though, the elegant woman thought as she stared up at him, he did not know why. This was for the better. She turned her back to him and leaned on the small stone ledge out to where Fairy was staring, just to annoy him.

Her troops had been wiped out. Unlike the other kingdoms, Shu, Wu, and Yuan Shao's, she had been sent with the most Riders. The Wendigo were known to flourish in the cold, and such the colder regions had more guards. The Wendigo were too smart. They weren't natural. They had targeted her Captain, thus making her as the next most experienced as Captain, and slowly started to pick them off. The Powers would not be happy, and it would trickle down to the House. Her punishment would not be swift, she thought, though did not loose the coy smile on her face.

"Should you really be out here? You are exhausted," Pi said, his voice husky.

She glanced over at him under her long eyelashes. "I am not so weak my lord, that I cannot handle a simple walk to see my other half."

"I only am caring about you, my dear." He smiled down at her, and she couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her spine. He most definitely was experienced in the games of lust. But then, so was she.

She stood up, and gave a small pout up at him. "And I am honored that such a great man like yourself cares about a simple Rider." She leaned forward, and so did he. But it was too soon. She smiled, fixed the brooch that held his cape, and batted her lashes innocently up at him. She had to keep him off his pedestal, out of his comfort zone. That was the way to win the game. He frowned, and watched her saunter off and could only boil in his anger when all the soldiers watched her go as well.

He followed after her, eventually capturing her. Her back against the wall, his arm blocking one exit. She simply smiled back at him, none disturbed by the new scenario. Pi leaned down to her long neck, starting to whisper something just for her ears, when she jerked away from him and held her head. "Ji?" he said, regaining his balance. She walked back out into the open, looking to where Fairy had taken to the sky.

"No," she mumbled, over and over. Pi tried to grab her, but she was quick to dash in a direction. "Oh no baby. Dearest little…. No" she said, and much more in her own natural language. Pi followed her, taking some soldiers with him as she dashed towards and open area. They were all shocked to see a purple Wyrm crash land in the field. It was beautiful with more muscle the Fairy, but just as marvelous. It only had two horns, looking like they had been pulled back by the wind and curving back towards the head. But one was broke at the curve, and blood splattered across the white snow. The Wyrm hardly raised its head when it had landed.

Fairy was trying to lift the Wyrm up, to lick the wounds. Ji wasted no time with explanations, but ran towards the injured beast. "Zhang He!" she screamed, trudging through the snow as fast as she could. Pi motioned for the men, and one ran off to tell Cao Cao. The others slowly followed him as he walked towards the fallen dragon. Ji crawled up the Wyrms knee, muttering to it in a way too soft to be her natural language but a completely foreign one altogether. The man on the saddle was hunched over, barely holding on. Refusing to cry, she began to untie him from his battle harness and tried to gracefully pull him away from Rainbow.

She rested him in the snow, letting his head rest in her lap. "Zhang He, speak to me," she whispered.

"Ah," the man groaned, opening his hazel eyes with a crooked smile. "Such a beautiful sight to awaken to."

"Oh my… My dearest friend. What has happened to you?" she whispered, not able to bring her voice any higher.

"The Wendigo attacked Lord Yuan Shao," he said, looking now to the cloudless sky. "I saw he who makes them so strong. I saw him… their new king."

"Shush," she said, smiling gently down at him. "You save it for when we're inside and you get better. The big strong men are coming, and they're going to take you to a healer. You just rest, dearest one."

"He was… beastly… but magnificent," He mumbled, returning his eyes to hers. She nodded, understanding the implications. He only complimented the beautiful. For a beastly man to get his attention, it was surely something to take note of. She leaned back to let the soldiers pick him. As they carried him away, she looked to Rainbow.

"What do we do with it?"

"I shall take care of him. Give me five able hands that will listen to me, and Rainbow shall be fine." She glared at Pi, before walking around to the Wyrms head and knelt back down to her knees to gently pet him. Somehow, after she was able to talk to He, she was going to have to get a hold of Zou Ci. Staring into the opal eyes of the dragon, she gently started to sing a simple song in her first language. It was soft, elegant, with a whimsical feel-so much unlike the goth language of the Riders. Rainbow closed his eyes, giving a desperate hum with Fairy.

_Yay! An Update! Woo-hoo guys! Yeah, I had some of this written already, and sort of decided it was enough to put up. If people still want this, I'll continue it. So, can anybody guess who the King of Wendigos is?_


	5. Chapter 5

Ning sat up in the tree, an apple in his mouth and his arms behind his head. He looked up, giving the Wu Estate a lazy stare. He had never proclaimed himself to be smart. He had no strategically enhanced skills, if flirting women didn't count. Even his social skills were somewhat under par. But he saw the problems rising quick, which really was a scare. If nobody else saw them but him, then the world was turning the wrong way.

Spitting out the apple, the light thud as it hit the ground quite satisfactory, he too leaped down to the ground with a sigh. Ci had given him a small message to be ready. For what, he didn't say. But Ning was more then tense about it. Not to mention the trouble the Two Qiaos had gotten themselves in. Ning hadn't yet figured out exactly what they did, but the way the two boys acted, something had happened that was going to lead to a lot of drama.

Ning didn't like drama.

Kicking the apple at the wall, he turned and made his way to the door leading inside. He scratched at his head under his bandana, spitting into the roses as he reached the stairs to the large beautifully crafted door. Inside, he was not surprised to see Yu wandering aimlessly on the second level hall. They both, when they were around, seemed to always find a reason to walk the halls with no goal. Ning knew, he asked them. He wasn't shy. Raising his upper lip in a sort of snarl, which he learned from being alone with Conqueror for so long, he turned on the ball of his feet and stomped towards his room.

Yu slowly walked down the hall, only realizing he was at one of the empty rooms when he almost ran into the door. Having no way to retaliate to the door, he wasn't one to beat on inanimate objects in public, he gave it a fierce glare. He was so unlike himself. He had problems concentrating as of late, probably explaining why he was aimlessly walking the halls, and had been rather irritable. He opened the door with a bored frown.

Music drifted out of the room, the light string notes beautiful. Brows furrowing, he stepped in. In the middle of the room wiggled Xiao to her music. She spun around with the foreign stringed instrument, shaking her head with a smile. She shook her hips in a suggestive manner, but the summer dress and side ponytail made it all too innocent. She spun around quickly, the tip of her ponytail hitting her nose as she stopped to look out the window.

She sang a note in her first language, enthusiastic and strangely fitting. Some birds fluttered away. Again she giggled, waving to them. Turning again, continuing to play some notes, she came a stop and stared at him. Yu had the decency to look shamed as he stood in the doorway. "My apologies, Lady Xiao," he said with a sweeping bow.

"Ah, it…. Well….I guesses it is not problem," she said slowly with a shrug, staring down at her instrument.

"It was beautiful," Yu said carefully, stepping inside some more.

She looked up with the warmest of smiles, a rosy blush glowing. "Really? I always love music. I am not as good of dancer as Sis Da. But it is hard not to dance to the music," she said cheerfully, and Yu realized he loved her smile. Though her speech was a little annoying, he silently admitted to himself.

"If you do not mind me asking, where is Lady Da? You two are often together."

"Da is out with Beauty. Da wanted a fly," Xiao shrugged, strumming a few notes. "Grace will want a fly too soon then." She laughed and shrugged at the same time.

"It is wonderful to know you two are comfortable enough to be alone now," Yu said softly, only realizing at the end he had said that out loud. Both of them blushed.

"I think it is alright here," she said. "Ning is not happy, and Da always is so tense. But I like it. Little better then the Home I guess. And as good as any camp."

Yu raised an eyebrow at her. "As good as any camp?" He did not think it was right to ask about any dysfunction at the house, though he desperately wanted to. The thought of her being afraid at her own home made his heart wrench.

"Camps are usually fun, except for the whole destroying town's thing," she shrugged again, turning now to look out the window to the sky. "But it is a duty yeah? And I save lives. Da says… what does she say…. It is hard to translate," she pouted, turning again with her shoulders slumped. "I'll have Da tell you. She'll know!"

"I look forward to hearing it."

"Really?" Her face scrunched up in the cutest of manners, before smiling. "I like you. You're nice, and I feel calm around you. It is like… I do not like your language!" She huffed, chewing on her bottom lip.

Yu laughed, making her grin and giggle as well. "My sincerest of apologies my lady."

Xiao blushed again. "You are a fancy talker! But that okay. You are still nice. Be even nicer, show me to the kitchen?"

"Of course my lady," he said with a laugh. He moved aside, extending his arm in a gentlemanly manner. She giggled again and rushed out of the room, twirling in the hall still holding her instrument. He led her to the kitchen, her idle chatter almost calming. In the kitchen she whined until she got a meal from the cooks, and found a balcony to lean on while she ate. She stared up at him, grinning as she ate.

"You like being out in the open," he asked, watching her.

"Yeah. Being enclosed in walls is not horrible, we live in mountains and all, but being connected with Grace, I've always loved the open-ness of things." She giggled and shrugged. Yu smiled as he stared at her, making her blush. Yu realized it and looked away, cheeks gaining some color of their own. He stared up at the sky, wondering if he'd see Da landing. Xiao munched on her food, humming a song between swallows. It was comfortable silence, one that Yu could say he enjoyed. She set the plate on the railing, moving to sit on it as well. Facing the doorway, Yu turned to make sure he could catch her if she did fall.

"What are your plans for the day?" Yu asked.

She looked at him, resting her chin on her shoulder with a shrug. "Don't know. Ning is hiding, and Da is flying. Nobody wants to be friends with us either. I understand though. Da good at explaining things you know." She had a bittersweet smile on her face, legs swinging. A roar had them both turning, looking down at the yard. Tong was pushing Ning out into the open with loud curses and kicks. Ning looked pensive, almost looked as if he was trying to calm the young man down.

"Ning!" Xiao called, sitting on her haunches now on the railing. The plate fell, smashing beside Ning. He glanced up in time to see her launching herself down at him. Yu tried to grab her, barely missing her hips. Dodging a punch, Ning caught her. Spinning around, she ended up kicking Tong in the face. The young man stumbled to the side, holding his jaw and spitting blood. Xiao's shriek had Ning dropping her, and she rubbed her foot tenderly. "Meanie!" she yelled at Tong.

Ning stepped in front of her, fists ready. Tong stumbled away, watching them both with wide eyes. More people started coming, and Tong turned to flee. Ning whirled around and glared at her. "What was that?" he hissed, pointing to the balcony where Yu was still gawking.

"I wanted to stop the fight," she mumbled, staring at her foot.

"By jumping off the balcony or throwing plates at me?"

"It not _that_ high. Little taller then Grace's back," Xiao said with the smallest of shrugs.

"You don't jump off of Grace!"

"Sometimes." Ning growled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Don't tell Da yes?"

"No, because she'll tan your hide for it."

"No!" Xiao cried out, standing and grabbing the vest he wore as a shirt. Ning was no longer looking at her though. Xiao bit her lip, and turned. Zou Ci was standing in the court yard, staring at them with the same grandfatherly smile he always had. It never sat well with Xiao. Releasing Ning's vest, she quickly went through the bowing system, Ning slowly starting after she did. Xiao knew her place; it was something you had to know to survive The Home. Stepping back, she let Ning talk to him.

"You did not warn of your arrival," Ning said in their natural language, noticing the boyish princess and Ce stumbling to a stop at the corner.

"This is not really I. I have had to project my image to get to all of my riders," Ci said, clasping his hands before him. The elderly man slowly stepped forward, stopping when he stood before Ning. There was no heat from him, and the air seemed to be sucked towards him like a vortex. It made Ning's gut twist.

"It is that important?"

"I warned you it would be," the illusion laughed. Ning nodded, spitting at the ground in disgust of it all. "You must warn your new lord. The Wendigo have a king now, and he is making an army. The Powers refuse to let it be a replay of history, and are working on a plan as we speak. Warn him to be ready. Yuan Shao is dead."

"Yuan who?"

"He will know who he is. I will have more information when He is better able to speak."

"He was hit? That damned fairy," Ning sighed. "Of all the morons to survive." Ci said nothing to this, but simple disappeared it a swirl of air and shimmering light. Xiao grabbed Ning's arm, leaning against him with a quiver of her bottom lip.

"A repeat of history?" she asked, still in their natural language.

"It won't happen," Ning said roughly, but did not push her off his arm. He turned when Shang Xiang ran up to him, already yelling for answers.

"Who-what was that? What did you guys talk about? I hate that ya'll speak in a different language about the important things! Its infuriating! I-we have a right to know, ya know," she yelled, standing toe to toe with him.

"You'll get out of my face, princess," Ning said, voice and tone bland.

Shang Xiang's face started to turn red, either in lack of breathing or anger. "You cad!" she hissed.

"Get out of my face," Ning repeated. Ce stepped forward then, glancing at Xiao who was shaking. Wrapping his arm around Shang Xiang's waist he hoisted her up and away from Ning. The princess started to scream and kick at him. Ning bowed his head in his direction, of which Ce returned.

"Is everything alright?" Ce asked, wrapping his free arm around Shang Xiang's legs to keep her from kicking. She started to scream louder, and more people started gather.

"Not really," Ning sighed. "I need a meeting with Lord Jian."

"I shall arrange it. Shut up Shang Xiang. I'll drop you in the pond. You know you're out of place." She stopped at that, falling limp on his shoulder. "Father wouldn't be pleased with you."

"He's insufferable! He acts like he's god or something," she hissed as Ce put her down.

"Aren't I?" Ning said in a husky voice, just to see her fume and squirm. She did just that, wheeling around with clenched hands and face a dark shade of red. With a chuckle, Ning led Xiao away. The crowd parted for them, and the two disappeared.

"See?!" she yelled, pointing after him. Ce gave her a dry laugh, running his hand through his hair. Things were getting even more difficult it seemed.

Da walked out of the main hall beside Xiao, behind Ning. Jian had taken it none too well that a full out war was happening. Not that she could blame him. Xiao wasn't taking it all too well either, and Da couldn't say her nerves weren't flapping like a hummingbirds wings. Ning of course seemed unfazed. In fact, he looked ready for the coming fights. How she wished she could be that confident. She and Xiao made their way to the garden, their favorite spot on the entire grounds. Ning followed after them, which had Da staring at him while she sat on a bench.

He ignored her gaze, instead looking the way they had come. Raising her eyebrow, she turned in that direction as well. For some reason, it didn't surprise her to see Ce and Yu walking their way. She liked having him around, explaining why she hadn't been so overcome in the main hall. He made her calm, and she felt safe around him. And it scared her to no end. Something was wrong, she knew it. It had to do with him obviously, but she couldn't decide what it was. She was betting Ning knew, being able to observe them like his own personal play of sorts.

Xiao saw them coming, and with a laugh, bounded towards Yu. Da tried to figure that as well, but was given no time. Ce was there, and he wanted her attention. She couldn't deny him. Why couldn't she deny him? "My lord?" she asked, staring up at him and ignored Ning's scoff.

"Is that right? Pops says its war. Is it?" he asked, looking earnest.

"We did not deny it," Ning huffed.

Da glared at him, but softened her gaze when she looked back to Ce. "Yes. The Wendigo have mobilized. It is likely to be a war."

"Are more Wyrm Riders coming?" Yu asked, Xiao dancing away from him to sit by Da and hold her hand.

"Most assuredly." Da nodded.

"So you won't have to fight," Ce said with affirmative nod.

"What? Of course I will. We all three will," Da said, almost sounding offended.

"But, you can't," Ce said, sounding like a prince.

"We most assuredly can," Da said, seeing Yu nod his head. Ning started to laugh against his tree.

"Yeah, we will fight," Xiao cried out, frowning at them both. "It will be you guys who won't see much battle. Wendigo are big jerks, and likely too much for normal people," she said, almost sounding relieved. To which Da realized she sympathized. The idea of Ce going head to head with a Wendigo made her break out in cold sweat and panic. It wasn't right. It just wasn't right!

"No," Ce said, regaining his cocky attitude. "I will fight for my country, for my people. I'm not scared of Scavenger Demons."

"Just because you are not afraid does not mean you cannot loose," Da snapped, rising to her feet. Ce stepped back in shock. "I do not need to hear this. I do not want to hear about your stupidity. Go and die. You are simply another man. Go, be a hero and die for a cause. Stupid men," she said, loosing her flame by the end of her speech. She dropped her head into her hand and tried to remember how to breathe.

"You can't mean that," Ce said, voice softening many degrees. Da glanced up at him with a frown. "You can't tell me you don't feel it. Something there. Me and Yu both of been having it. You two got to feel it too. A connection of sorts. I mean, if this ain't love, what- you got to feel it too," he said, sounding desperate as he pleaded with her.

Da stumbled back, almost falling over the bench. Xiao caught her, and the two stared at the two men as if they were foreign monsters. Xiao whispered to Da in their language, and Da simply held her hand to her mouth. Both looked to Ning, who broke out in a fit of laughter, holding his stomach as he bent over.

_Dun dun dun! This is a part of the story I've been wanting to write, so that's why I got it out quicker. It was really hard to write though. Is it moving too fast you guys think? Please, let me know your thoughts on this. Please review! Like I said in _Better Half,_ I write so much better and quicker if I get reviews. They mean the world to me. So yeah, push the little button and tell me your thoughts. Even if you think this is my worst chapter yet in_ Heroes_, or of all time (though I doubt that, if you've read _Little Red_). I want to know._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Everybody fell silent, waiting impatiently for Ning to calm down. When he did straighten, leaning against the tree again. Only chuckling, the warrior wheezed for air, still holding his sides. It was Da who snapped. "Care to explain?" she almost yelled in their native tongue.

"No. You gotta do this on your own," he replied so that the two men could understand. Da flushed, and Xiao gave a sad whimper. "Think about it, you two," Ning sighed, his cheeks hurting now. Da closed her mouth, and closed her eyes. Ce started talking again, trying to sort it out on his own. With great difficulty, she pushed him out of her mind and thought. Xiao held her hand, and chewing on her bottom lip, tried to do the same. Falling back into the calmness of her mind, Da's breath started to even out.

Meditation was a must know in the Home. A calm mind was the best way to sort through information, and to find one's dragon. Da herself had always felt like she was floating on top of a river, each calculated thought and emotion was a ripple that she felt. Xiao had said she always felt like she was sitting in a pasture, and her thoughts came like the wind. Da, sitting on her pond, waited for it to come to her. A pink ripple sent a shiver up her spine, and she became slightly drowsy. Beauty was asleep no doubt. It was when the golden drops started falling like rain that she started to panic. Somebody was in her mind.

Agitation, the garden, embarrassment, hurt pride, confusion, lust, all of them raced through her. She jerked, almost like a seizure. Eyes snapping open, she steadied Xiao who was falling off the bench. "There was more then Grace, Da," Xiao said in their natural tongue. "A breeze that tasted like cinnamon and smelled like the woods beat at me from all directions." Grace had always smelt like roses and tasted like sugar cane, Xiao had told Da once when they had first reached the stage.

Da, still holding Xiao, looked to Ce. Watching his every move, ignoring his yelling's, she reached out for the golden rain. The link. It was badly made, very primal in the fact that it was just emotions. There was little understanding in the link. Still watching Ce, who was staring back at her now, looking more confused then ever, she gave it a hard tug. The man's hands flew to his chest, and his bright eyes went wide. Da started to panic. Turning to Xiao, she went off in their native tongue, not ready for Ce to know the truth. She noticed, over Xiao's shoulder, that Ning had a smirk on his face.

Ce couldn't believe the tug he had felt. It had hurt. And it had most defiantly come from her. The way she had looked before and after proved it was her. Yu laid a hand on his shoulder. "You alright Ce?" His voice was hushed. Suddenly Yu let go of him, and his hands went to his chest, looking like the wind had been knocked out of him. Ce's head swung to see Xiao making the most astonished of faces. "What was that?" Yu said first, gaining the girls attentions again. Ning was laughing, quietly, again.

Da stood up, but it was Xiao who answered first. "I'm so sorry, Yu!" she said, and began to chew on her lip and wring her hands. "It had to be then, and I hadn't meant to."

"Meant to what?" Yu sighed, not liking the way she was scared and worried. It was almost as if he could feel her panic. At it unnerved him.

"When we first met," Da said, taking hold of one of Xiao's hands to stop her wringing it. "I do hope you remember?"

"Of course," both of them said in unison.

"We made a mistake then. And for that we apologize. It was our first real mission. We wouldn't have been sent here if not for the fact that the south west has very little Wendigos. They prefer the colder climate, you see. But back then, we had no way to communicate with you, and you two were panicking. We could not have that. It seems that, in our hurry and our own panic, we created a link with you. A very rough one, but a link none the less. That is what has been bothering you, my lords."

"Please, don't be angry," Xiao said her lip bleeding.

"A link?" Ce mumbled, looking to Yu, who shrugged. It was then that they felt the pain. It was like somebody was cutting open their hearts, and was poking around in it. It was like the wind was sucked out of their lungs. There skin burned and itched. Both men fell to their knees, wheezing with tears in their eyes.

"The link is cut," she mumbled, and Ce tried to see her but the world was blurry and spinning. It was hard to hear her, like they were on opposite sides of glass. "It is less painful if you are not braced for it, or I would have warned you my lord."

"I'm sorry!" Xiao cried out again.

"We shall take our leaves now." Both of them bowed, and without looking at them, they rushed away from the two men and Ning. The Rider pushed himself away from the tree and sat on the bench. Elbows on his knees, he leaned forward and smiled down and Ce and Yu. If Ce thought he could reach him, he'd of hit him. Instead, he was trying to find his lungs. It seemed that Yu was trying to find any internal organs though, the way he rested his head on the stones. Ning had the nerve to laugh loudly, shoulders shaking.

"Glad it's finally over and done with," Ning said when they started to breath regularly again.

"Did you stay to laugh at our pain, or to explain what just happened?" Yu snapped, flipping his hair out of his face.

"Mostly to laugh," Ning said with a smirk. Yu looked like he was going to lunge. Ce sat up, extending one leg and resting his arm on the others knee. He was still breathing heavy, but at least he could see straight again.

"Well, explain while your at it."

"I decided I'd tell you some things. Ask away, and I might answer." Yu lunged, but Ce caught him.

"Afterwards," Ce mumbled, and Yu fell back with a glare. Ning laughed again. "What were they saying by link?" Ce asked the first question, though he was sure if Yu could clear his head he'd be better at it. Ce just had a hard time pulling off subtle and delicate, especially after just having his heart ripped out.

"The link is what binds us to our wyrm. The wyrm comes to us, and opens up the link. In a very symbolic explanation, the wyrm opens up the inner gates and allows us magical abilities."

"And that was how they were able to make a link with us?" Yu asked, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Yeah," Ning said just as carefully.

"And now the link has been cut?"

"Forcefully severed. The correct term, though it is quite funny, since that's the only way to get rid of a link. It's always forced."

"So even if one of us had died, it would have been just as painful?"

"Yes. And they weren't lying. If you brace for it, it is supposedly more painful. That's what some of the old Riders say anyway." He shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"Was it just as painful for them?" Yu asked.

"No. They could redraw themselves from the link. You don't know how, and it would have been useless to teach you."

"What?" Ce snapped.

"You can't do it with a wyrm, but that's because your life depends on them and there's on you. Not to mention they're very demanding creatures. But for a spouse- it is usually done with a spouse- or other human in this case, it is easy to 'shut the door' on your side to stop any flow. No longer does it feel like there is a link to them, and you don't feel them anymore. You just felt the link."

"I meant us not being able to learn."

"Oh. Well, it takes years to get used to using the link right at least. This is why the girls had done it sloppy with you boys."

"And what happens now?" Yu asked, straightening his hair, still scowling.

"Now? That should be obvious. Everything goes on like normal. Except now you don't have to trail after the girls like puppies." Both men glared at him a little harder.

"Why did they seem almost scared about what they did?" Yu said finally.

"Most of the Powers would be mad at them for linking themselves to you."

"Why? Who are the Powers?"

"You don't need to know about them, the Home, or anything else about our culture to understand what just happened."

"So you're just not going to tell us?" Ce snapped.

"Yes."

"Why? Why can't we know?"

"Because you two are heroes. You're the types that do stupid things for other people. Where you go, trouble happens. Usually, I'd be happy with that. I'm all up for a fight," Ning said with a grin, "but that ain't just what you bring. As just proven, heroes don't bring just danger. They bring drama. And lots of it. I don't do drama. The Powers don't like outside drama. The Home Rider doesn't particularly like drama. All of that put together, equals punishment for me, Da, Xiao, the Home Rider, and me again."

"You again?" Yu said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. Rong wouldn't like being punished for what I did, and would punish what was left after the Powers got a hold of me," Ning spat. "The stupid woman." Ce knew, sitting there looking up at Ning, that he'd have to sort through all of the conversation in the morning. Most of it was going over his head.

"So, that's it then?" Yu said with a long withering sigh. "We're just supposed to avoid and dislike all three of you now because the link is gone?"

"Do what you want. I don't think the girls will like you much anymore. Like I said, if it gets back to the Powers what happened, pain could rain down on them. But I particularly don't care anymore. You're no longer interesting, nor a threat." Ning stood up and gave a long stretch. Falling back to his heels, he glanced down at them while scratching his back. "I'm going to bed. G'night, dolts." Ce wished he had the energy to rush to his feet and yell at him. Which was probably why he made a point to insult them. Just because they couldn't do anything back. He's such a nice guy, Ce thought snidely.

"We should too. I imagine we'll be drained tomorrow."

"And ain't war preparations going to start?"

"We've already had one foot in the war zone," Yu shrugged, dragging himself to his feet, "it won't take much to get all the men ready." Ce groaned, but followed Yu up.

***

Ji kissed her knuckle and fell to her knees when Zhou Ci made his way in. All of the Wei soldiers watched the old man gently urged her to her feet in their guttural language. Finally rising, Ji nodded and turned on her heel. Without notice to the soldiers, she led the old man through the halls. One was brave enough to step in her way.

"My lady," he said with an almost mocking tone, "I cannot allow this stranger passage through our king's halls."

"You will and shall. He is the man the Powers sent to learn from He. He is the man who will end up giving me the orders to save you and your brothers," she indicated to the other soldiers, "from the Wendigo. You may, however, go and tell Lord Cao Cao that Great Power Zou Ci has arrived. He will be with Zhang He though." Ji then glared him down, and the soldier ran to tell his lord. Flipping her hair, she continued to walk down the hall, her heels clicking against the floor.

He lay in the bed, eyes closed. He was almost entirely bandaged between broken bones and cuts. The fire was constantly going, as he had almost froze to death between flying to her and his own body failing. All in all, He wasn't looking as good as he usually did. Ji gave Ci the chair closest to him, she finding a seat elsewhere. Soon she would have all the time in the world with Ci. He was probably going to end up giving her a link to him as well. She wasn't particularly looking forward to that.

"Are you awake?" Ci asked.

He opened one eye, the one not under the bandage around his head, and gave a groan. Ji quickly moved to get him some water. "Power," he made out, nodding.

"Very good, He. Are you up for a stroll?"

He flinched, and glanced to Ji as she leaned in to let him drink. "I suppose," he started, voice still crusty, "that if would be better the sooner you achieved the information you so desire."

"It would be beneficial for all," Ci nodded, looking sagely.

"Then we shall take a stroll down memory lane, Great Power." He forced himself into a sitting position, and tried to even his breaths.

Ci glanced over at Ji. "This might take some time. Do keep me from getting interrupted. I do not wish to further damage this young man." Ji nodded and made her way to the door to wait for the lords. Ci then turned to He. "May the ancients guide my hand, and may my judgments be right and swift," he mumbled. He then lay his left hand on He's forehead and fell into a deep trance, He suddenly looking blind as he stared at the ceiling.

_The plot is slowly coming along. I think in the next chapter it might come out who the Wendigo King is. I hope nothing is confusing for you guys though. _

_Review please!  
_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

For all she was worth, she knew she was in a bind. It was entirely her own fault, which was the only reason she decided she shouldn't cry. But things were just horrible. She glanced up, the crimson light of the rising sun glittered through the branches of the tree. Repositioning herself against the hard bark of said tree, she blew at her hair. It was likely she wouldn't be noticed stuck for some time. And it was cold. Not like it was back home, but she was getting rather spoiled here at the Wu estate. Tapping the branch with her foot, she hummed. Slowly, it broke into song.

_When you come into my garden,_

_When you come to speak of love,_

_With the crimson behind your back_

_And the silver at your front,_

_When you come to whisper words of long desire,_

_To speak of her beauty at a front,_

_Please remember I'm still here,_

_But pay no attention to my tears_

She stopped there, frowning. She had always prided herself in her songs. It was one of the few things she particularly thought she had talent for. For singing and playing. Unlike her sister, who had the grace of a crane, and the elegant beauty to match, Xiao was more cut out for the sound of things. She was not really made to look at and watch. She had always been more for the doing, or the simple act of listening. In fact, she rather hated to be watched.

This was what, in a sort of round about manner, caused her to be sitting in the tree at a far too early time of morning. She was still upset about what had happen to Yu and Ce, which of course made her antsy. Da however was not one to act on her feelings; in fact she often fell deeper into herself when she was truly distraught. Xiao was then left alone. She knew Da was there to talk to, but Xiao didn't need a talking just yet. Though Da would surely think so once she got down. Sighing again, she tried to think of how to fix her song. It wasn't that it was bad; it just seemed too soon for the last line.

"If only I had a piece of paper," she mumbled, again repositioning herself. She had been trying to climb out of her room, afraid she would be seen the normal way. So she had taken her flute, which was now stuck in the ground at the bottom of the tree, and some papers, which had blown away when she had dropped them, and tried to get down. But a branch had broken, and Xiao had fallen in one of the worst spots on the tree. She was most defiantly going to be bruised.

She hoped it was Ning who found her. He wouldn't give her a lecture, probably wouldn't care enough to tell Da, and could get her out. Not to mention she liked him enough. Unlike others who would be nice enough to not just pretend to not see her, it wouldn't be as awkward getting down with Ning. Mostly just because he didn't care. Xiao was pretty sure she could be see hanging upside down in a outfit made to look like a monkey screaming like a banshee-which were terrible woman so Xiao couldn't imagine why she'd scream like one-and Ning would simply get her down and keep moving. He was just that infuriatingly helpful. Sometimes he'd make a smart remark, usually if he was drunk.

_When you come into my garden._

_When you come to speak of love,_

_With the crimson behind your back_

_And the silver at your front,_

_When you come to whisper words of long desire,_

_To speak of her beauty at a front,_

_Her smile in your heart_

_With elegant sweeping hair_

_Please remember, I'm still here-_

"The hell?" a voice said, causing Xiao to jump and cling to the branches around her. Xiao looked down and paled considerably. Ling Tong was holding her flute, staring up at her with the most bizarre of expressions, except for maybe the one Xiao wore. The two stared at each other, Xiao hoping that if she didn't move he wouldn't see her and would continue on. Of course, he didn't move. "What are you doing?" he snapped.

"Ah, sitting?"

A nerve in his cheek twitched as he stared at her. "Really?"

"Yes?"

"It's really helpful, ya know, that you sound so sure of yourself," he sighed.

"Really?" Xiao beamed down at him.

"No, that was sarcasm," he gritted out. Xiao deflated. "Are you stuck?" he said in the same, painful tone.

"Yes," Xiao mumbled, shoulders sagging now. Tong sighed, staring at his feet. Xiao was half expecting, half hoping he would just walk away. Again, he didn't. To her surprise, and dismay, he set the flute down and hoisted himself up into the tree. He carefully maneuvered his height through the branches until he was staring down at her.

"Alright, c'mon."

"You're helping me?"

"You're like a cat stuck in a tree. I hate cats. I don't like climbing trees. But if I don't get you down, somebody will find that reason enough to further 'reprimand' me and beat on me black and blue."

"Oh." He bent his knee from where he stood, and with the hand not holding him to the tree, helped her get her foot on it. From there, he held her hand as she dropped to the next branch. She glanced back up at him, not enjoying the closeness of them in the tree, and was somewhat shocked at the image of the purple and red sky behind his handsome face. He no longer had anger on his face, or the smirk, and it a sort of way he was attractive. It did slightly help that he was blushing as much as she.

"What?" he snapped. Xiao shrugged and quickly continued down. She made a mistake on the last branch and fell to the grass below. She landed ungracefully on her feet, stumbling with her arms flailing. Tong of course landed on his haunches, rising with a superior look on his face. When Xiao was finally standing again, she glanced back in time to see her flute flying at her. She barely caught it. "What were you singing?" he asked, making sure to stare down at her of course.

"Just song." Xiao glanced around the trail, before up at her window. "Ah, thank you for your help. Ning is right. You're not horrible person. Just… bad," Xiao said with a smile. Tong stared down at her, much like he had when he had seen her up in the tree, and she giggled. Waving to him, Xiao ran down the trail. Maybe she could get her song done before breakfast and show it to Da. Da usually didn't ask where the inspiration came from.

_When you come into my garden_

_When you come to speak of love,_

_With the crimson behind your back_

_And the silver at your front,_

_When you come to whisper words of long desire,_

_To the north sweeps the mountains_

_The wind will carry_

_The nightingales are singing in the south_

_Your song of love_

_But to me you won't sing_

_Her balcony beside the elm_

_Among the men who care nothing of music_

_By the sweetness of the breeze_

_She will hear a song of truth_

_She will show no courtesy to a poet_

_Show no heart to the man_

_She will turn away the sweet sweet breeze_

_Yet, to me you won't sing_

_When the war comes thrashing in_

_Through the mountains_

_Raging to the south_

_Her heart will sing a sad sad song_

_When her poet rises, takes his challenge_

_To be a man with the rest_

_When his sword has fallen_

_Her heart will sing a sad sad song_

_Yet mine won't sing at all_

Xiao smiled as she ran. Hopefully she could remember it until she could find some paper. She ran all the way inside, she continued to sing the song. Instead of picking her room however, when she came to the hall-it was the one place she could find in the whole estate easily, she picked Da's room across the way. Da was lying out on her bed, curled up and hiding under the blanket.

Xiao stopped for a moment to stare, marveling at Da's subtle messages, before lunging at the bed with a squeal. Bouncing, As Da sat up with a small shriek; the two stared at each other, one smiling gleefully the other in bewilderment. Finally Da gave a long sigh and pulled at her braid. "How early is it?" she asked in their natural tongue.

"The sun has risen over the peaks," Xiao said with a smile. "Do you have any paper handy, Sis?" Xiao glanced around the room. Da pointed to the dresser, and Xiao was there.

"Is it a song?" Da asked, gently stepping out of the bed.

"Yes."

"Hm. What are your plans for the day, Xiao?"

"Ning said that he was going to talk some more with Lord Jian for the war preparations, and I don't know if we're going to be there. If not I was going to figure out my song, and then try to give Grace something to do. She is upset that we aren't flying as much," Xiao said, not looking up.

"Beauty is getting antsy as well."

"What are you going to do?" Xiao asked, finally glancing over her shoulder.

"Probably spend the time in the library. I have little else to do." Xiao scowled at her sister. Da had seemed depressed since they had released the lords from the link. Though it wasn't true. Da had just further closed herself off from those in the castle. Xiao couldn't particularly blame her; they all had a way of dealing with life's obstacles. Xiao didn't agree with Da's, but then she herself had been called to rash and obnoxious. Da turned away from her and started towards the closet.

"All day in the library?" Xiao finally asked.

"Yes, probably. What are you doing up so early, Xiao?"

"I couldn't sleep," Xiao said, almost too quickly. Glancing back at Da to see if she noticed, Xiao pocketed the song with her flute. Da didn't turn around as she looked through the dresses and skirts. Xiao let out a quiet sigh, before bouncing over. "You're not going to get fat reading all those books are you?" she teased.

Da swatted at her. "At least I shall be intelligent if I will no longer be skinny," Da said.

"Smart and fat," Xiao teased some more, "a good combination for a wyrm rider!" Da threw a shoe at her. Xiao laughed as she caught it. "Seriously though, Sis, you're not going to fall into a rut are you?"

"Of course not Xiao. I am simply taking as much me-time as I can before we head north. Now, off with you. I don't want to get dressed listening to your idle babble."

"Sure," Xiao laughed. "I would hate for you to put your skirt on backwards again." She dodged the pair to the other shoe and left the room. She leaned on the door and stared at the ceiling for a little bit. But then decided she didn't want to be there when Da emerged, and skipped down the hall, forgetting she had meant to tell Da about Tong in a round about manner to keep her out of trouble.

She found her way back down to the court yard, and chewed on her bottom lip for something to do. Ning would find her if he needed her. He usually didn't, but he could. Da wouldn't want or need to see her for some time, and nobody was awake. Not that anybody liked her enough to talk to her. But things seemed less boring with people around. She started to aimlessly walk the grounds, in hopes of finding something interesting, and not related to Tong. Which brought up the question of why he was up and about. Xiao sighed as her mind raced.

She hadn't realized it, but she came to the training grounds. She had been stopping by lately, mostly just exercising as usual. She was hardly trained to fight on the ground. She was far better with projectiles then a sword. And, being as clumsy as she could be, it was probably better for her health to never pick one up. She glanced around, and was slightly surprised to see somebody else out in the early morning. That was, until she saw who it was. Taishi Ci was boxing the air.

He actually looked smaller without his armor, not that he was a small man by any means. He shined red, with his sweat in the rising sunlight. Xiao wondered if he was cold. Ci was one of the few men at the Wu Estate who had always shown them respect. He wasn't nice, but he didn't treat them wrongly. The man seemed to be unable to do anything that just might taint his honor in any form. It was something Xiao admired. She wasn't sure she could hold her convictions on such high regard.

He slowly moved around the square, grunting as he hit at his imaginary opponent. He was as powerful as Ce, and just as quick. It was marvelous watching the two spar. The three riders had watched from a distance when the two had gone at it. While he was not as agile as Ce, who preformed kicks and such, his punches were quick and accurate. Xiao had felt pain just watching the two, though Ning was enjoying it to the max. Ci finished his routine jabs and let his thick muscled arms falls to his sides. He bowed to nobody, or maybe it was somebody who Xiao didn't know existed, and moved to find his water. He stopped when he saw her staring.

"My lady," he said with a bow.

Xiao stepped back, startled from her thoughts. "Sorry! Sorry!" She bowed over and over. "Staring is rude I know! Sorry!"

"It does not matter," Ci said, rising and staring down at her. Though nothing like Tong, Xiao decided. He didn't stare with contempt.

"Good at fighting," Xiao said, stumbling over her words worse then usual as the color rose in her cheeks. He raised a brown eyebrow at her, and she made a few clumsy jabs at the air. He smirked, and she burst out laughing at her silly attempt. "You be good," she said again, feeling a little calmer. It was nice to know he was normal sometimes. Anybody that laughed at her was somewhat normal.

"Thank you, my lady," he said. She rocked on her heels as he drank heavily from the water canter.

"Done? With court?" she asked when he took up the towel.

He glanced at her, looking like he had expected her to leave. "My apologies, my lady, but I was planning to still use it. Are you in need of it?"

"Not really. Hadn't planned any," Xiao smiled. "But that always more fun yes? Ci teach Xiao to punch?" She did more jabs at the air, spinning at the end with a giggle. Ci raised an eyebrow at her, watching her incuriously. Xiao stared up at him with the same smile. The worst he could do was hate her, and that really couldn't be that bad.

Yu smiled as he watched her spin around, her dress flaring out. He couldn't hear anything but her giggles, but that was enough for him. With the war preparations, things had been too busy for the simple things. He hadn't forgotten though what it had felt like to have the link torn. In his free time he had done a lot of thinking about it. Him and Ce had discussed it after they could see straight again.

Both felt the longing still. But no longer was it specifically for the girls. It was for something to fill the void that the open link had left. Ce had been the first to admit it. He wasn't one to hide behind a calm façade. Yu groaned, shaking his hair when the cold breeze hit his open window. Ce had also admitted he had wanted to establish even ground with Da. Yu could agree with that. Even if he couldn't hold her, which he still sometimes thought about, Yu wanted to at least be her friend. Feelings didn't just evaporate with some kind of magical link, Yu decided as he pushed himself away from the window to make his ruffled bed. He had seen things in her that normal people wouldn't. Especially not with her vocabulary. But he had seen them in their time together and with the link. He just needed to see them again, without the link guiding him.

_Yes, I wrote the songs. Yes, they are not the best. No, I don't particualarly care. If you have a way to make them better, great, I'm all ears (or eyes I suppose). If not, you don't need to tell me they suck. They actually do portray the sort of relationships now, so they aren't just there to make you guys roll your eyes at my bad poems/songs/whatever we're calling them. Other then that, I thought it would be nice to show that Xiao really wasn't stupid, she just didn't know the language. Ling Tong needed some growth, and I didn't want it to move too fast. But it is sort of important. You got a look into all four main characters, and two side characters (who are sort of important ya know)._

_Please Review!  
_


	8. Chapter 8

Xiao fell back on her butt, glaring up at Ci. The man seemed torn between helping her up and apologizing, or saying she should have been prepared. Xiao pushed the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail back, and got back on her feet. "Are we to continue, my lady?" he asked steadily. He didn't look any worse then when they had started, in fact ready to take down an army still, and she was wishing for a warm bath and a massage. He hadn't hit her once, but her muscles were still protesting loudly.

"I think…" she said, but stopped when she saw the Sun Siblings walking towards the area, all looking ready for training. "Yeah, I'm done," she mumbled. Ci glanced over his shoulder, and bowed to the family.

"What have you been doing to our smallest Wyrm rider?" Shang Xiang teased to Ci, hands on her hips. "I thought you were honorable Ci!"

"I have not touched her," Ci said, still in the even, respectable tones. She rolled her eyes, and grinned at Xiao.

"What are you doing?" Quan snapped though, glaring at her.

"Learning," Xiao said timidly, shrinking away from him. Quan turned his gaze to Ci.

"She asked if she could learn the correct way to punch. I obliged." Ci straightened, glancing at each of them. "I saw no harm in it."

"To punch?" Quan turned his gaze back on Xiao, eye brow raised into his bangs. Xiao nodded slowly.

"Leave her alone," Shang Xiang said, punching Quan in the arm. "What have you done to her to make her so skittish anyway?" Quan leaned away from her, rubbing his arm.

"Maybe she just knows a freak when she sees one," Ce said with a grin. Quan jerked, glaring at him. Shang Xiang laughed. "They are known to be dangerous, ya know."

"Unpredictable psychos." Shang Xiang wiggled her fingers at him.

"Which doesn't explain why she isn't scared of either of you," Quan huffed.

"I'm a girl too. Are symptoms," she indicated to Xiao, "are the same."

"I'm just perfect," Ce said flexing his arms with a grin. Shang Xiang smacked his torso, and he let the breath out with a gasp. Xiao giggled. Quan said nothing but rolled his eyes. He strolled passed her without a glance and began his stretches. Shang Xiang glared at him for a moment, before turning to her with a smile.

"So, why'd you want to learn to hit? You just don't come off as the type to care," Shang Xiang said, beginning her stretches as well.

Xiao shrugged. "It was something to do." Ce and Shang Xiang laughed, and she blushed with a smile. She liked these two siblings. Quan though scared her.

"Are we interrupting?" Ce asked, pulling off his shirt and shaking his hair. Xiao turned crimson as she stepped back. Xiao felt nothing towards him, except friendship maybe, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a washboard chest. Coming from the north where it was constantly cold and raised surrounded by woman and boobs, Ce was one of the best looking men Xiao had seen. And that, she thought, making sure to stare at Shang Xiang, was probably something that wouldn't change. Ning was also very nice on the eyes, Xiao thought. Ci probably would be too if he smiled, and lost the shirt. The blood came rushing back to her face.

Shang Xiang burst out laughing, staring up at Xiao from the floor. "Xiao, you have to keep some blood flow. It all can't stay in you cheeks," Shang Xiang teased. Xiao blushed even more as she glared down at Shang Xiang, who laughed again. Ce laughed as well, and Xiao realized he was probably used to the reaction. Cocky, spoiled brat, Xiao thought as she watched from the corner of her eye as he stretched.

Ce raised his arms over his head, shaking his head at Xiao. Ci had moved to take a drink of water, staring up at the trees. Ce was happy to see her up and about, but then he shouldn't have expected Xiao to lock herself up in a room. She seemed happy enough, he thought. He hadn't seen Da since the episode in the garden, and he had looked. She still seemed to be an expert at avoiding him. Apparently it wasn't the link that had given her the edge. He glanced at her again, to see her glaring at something Shang Xiang had said.

Ce felt badly about it, but maybe if he could get Xiao to open up she'd help him with Da. Really, it all would work out in the end he thought, turning to Ci with a grin. Everybody would be happier at the end. He wasn't going to hurt Xiao to get his need. "Hey, man, let's tussle!" Ce said.

Ci jerked up, and even glared at Ce. "My liege, that is rather unfair don't you think," Ci mumbled, but set down the water and stretched his arms as he stepped forward.

"Come now Ci. It's never been fair. I've always been on a completely different level then you."

"Oh yes. You've always had to look up to see me, I suppose my liege. It is only fitting that I am worn down some for you," Ci said in the same even tone that made Xiao giggle and Shang Xiang snort. Ce laughed as he spread his legs for an offensive attack. Ci nodded and raised his fists. The two charged each other, grappling for the upper hand. Shang Xiang grabbed Xiao and took her closer to the edge of the court. Quan came and stood beside his sister, his sword at his side.

"Why do they insist upon beating upon each other?" he asked.

"Why are you asking me of all people?" Shang Xiang huffed, hands on her hips.

"Because you have the same mentality as Ce. Had you been but a boy, the match most likely would have been a three way all or nothing match." Shang Xiang stuck her tongue out at him.

"Is Ci not tired? Is this fair?" Xiao asked, pointing to them.

"It probably isn't really what would be considered fair," Shang Xiang said with a laugh. "But neither of them really wants to hurt the other. This will be a light spar. With the war over the horizon, the boys are just being obnoxious."

"Obnoxious?" Xiao repeated, watching Ci punch Ce square in the jaw, and Ce responding by throwing Ci over his shoulder. "Really?"

"In a boyish way," Shang Xiang laughed.

"Than what is Quan?" Xiao whispered.

"A far more level headed fool then the rest of the Sun Family," Shang Xiang said with a shrug. Quan gave them both one haughty glance before moving off to practice with his blade.

"What did you come to practice?"

"Me? Probably my archery since Ce and Ci have the court," Shang Xiang shrugged.

"Shooting?"

"Aye."

"Oh, I am good at shooting! I do not like cross bows though," Xiao said, sticking her tongue out in disgust. "Too strict."

"Yeah, crossbows don't do much for me either. C'mon, shoot with me." Xiao smiled with a happy nod and skipped beside the Wu Princess.

Da curled her legs underneath her, resting on the lounge with a contented smile. The book in her hands was heavy, and had an old book smell to it. She had skipped breakfast, unknowingly, and was beginning to feel the consequence of it. However, she was not ready to go and face the cooks. So, instead, she turned the page of the book.

"Well now, I hadn't expected to find you," a low voice said, and she peeked over the book to see Lord Sun Jian staring down at her with his usual fatherly smile. He seemed to find anybody his eldest son's age or younger was worth treating as a child of his own. Or there about. Da didn't ever get into the technicalities of it.

"My lord," Da said, bowing as well as she could on the lounge.

"What are you reading, darling?" he asked, trying to see the title.

"Ah," Da tried not to blush as she answered, "_The Last Light of the Moon_ my lord."

"Ah. A favorite among the woman then. More then once have I seen that book help in the dainty hands of a lady," he laughed, and Da blushed again. When she did not say anything, he continued unperturbed. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine my lord."

"I meant about the war, my dear."

"Oh." Da stared at the words, but did not read them. Finally she set the book down, the page number remembered, and gave a sigh. "I am frightened, my liege. I have rarely ever done real battle before."

"Do you believe we have a chance?"

"Does it matter what I of all people think, my lord?"

"It always matters. Moral among the ranks is crucial, Lady Da. If the Riders feel we have a chance, then it will surely help my soldiers."

Da wetted her lips, hand folded up in her skirt. "My lord, I am unsure what to think. I hope we have a sporting chance; I believe we will make the Wendigo work for the victory should it be theirs. And they shall force us to fight hard should it be our own. But I have no mind for warfare, and no knowledge of the latest happenings. Ning, my lord, would be better suited for this topic of discussion."

"You have such a fine tongue, my lady. With but a small teaching, you would be fit for the court."

"I do not wish to talk of nonsense and dillies dally around a topic, my liege."

"That is one way to look at politics and the court," Jian laughed. Da just stared up at him, her brown eyes wide. "I am sorry, my lady. I will not waste more of your time." He gave her a sweeping bow, and Da started to stutter. Still smiling, Jian found the book he wanted and left the large library. Da continued to sit on the lounge, feeling like she was in the wrong, that she was a fool, until it was time for mid-day meal.

She sat at the table, Xiao sweaty and laughing beside her. "And then, she had the nerve of tripping me with the bow! Can you believe her? Then, Ce, trying to walk after his little brawl with Ci, went and fell all into the stands. The benches went everywhere. It was hilarious. Ci is so mean, when he pushed him."

"He hardly tapped Ce," Shang Xiang, just as sweaty, sat across from them. "Or, that's the story. We have to, somehow, keep Ce's ego down. He has to be able to get through the doors you know," she said between bites. Da stared at her food. Xiao choked on her bite, trying to be subtle about it. It had slipped her mind about Ce. She tried to convey it to Shang Xiang, but she was either very bad at it, or Shang Xiang was very dense. Possibly both, Xiao thought with a hard swallow.

"Anyway, he's probably getting himself bandaged now," Shang Xiang continued, giving Xiao a rather scared expression. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Xiao gagged. Da was now staring at her. "But… um… what are you doing the rest of today Da? It won't be long before we're out and meeting with the family again right? We do not have long. We should enjoy the calm before… before…"

"The calm before the storm," Da said, turning back to her dish.

"Yes! That is it! The language is hard!" Xiao whined, glad to see Da's shoulders relax. Xiao was thinking about how stupid Da was being, staring down at her half finished plate, when Yu made his way in, speaking to Lu Xun. Suddenly, it didn't seem that pathetic anymore as she leaned towards Da and kept her head down. He stared at her for a moment, Xiao only seeing it from behind her hair that she had dropped, but continued on with Xun though less enthusiastic as when he entered. She glanced up to see Da giving him a glare. Apparently he hadn't thought it safe to approach. Xiao felt like hugging her sister. Shang Xiang, half a noodle dangly from her lips, glanced over them over before shrugging and slurping it up. She turned red when she saw her father and Ning walk in at the very moment.

It was horrible, it really was, but the Rider made her heart beat fast. She knew what they would say it was; in fact she thought maybe it was. He was ruggedly handsome, and was what she had always thought a man should be, mostly. But then, she had always based her ideal men off of her eldest brother. She'd never admit it, for so many reasons, but she had fallen for Ce once. She was only his half sister, possibly not even that. Sun Jian had her with Ce's mother, but then they weren't married at the time. Jian wouldn't hear of it, and Shang Xiang didn't particularly care either way, but she had once thought Ce was the only man for her. Eventually it turned into sisterly love. Shang Xiang didn't question it.

She sometimes thought Ce noticed. Though he might have passed it off as sisterly love. Ever since he became a warrior, he had been worshipped by the women population. He was in no way ignorant to anything woman really. Shang Xiang highly doubted he was pure for very long. But Shang Xiang didn't like pondering the idea that Ce might have caught on to something that she was rather hoping to keep a secret for a very long time. Hopefully she'd only have to tell her crypt buddy really.

But, thinking about that, it wasn't funny that she would fall again for somebody _similar_ to Ce. Ning was strong, powerful, and quick. He was sure of himself, at the point of being called cocky really. He surely wasn't pure; was most defiantly educated in the ways of women. This, on so many levels, was quite an annoyance. The only thing he didn't match really was that he wasn't as smart as Ce. Ce, while he wasn't a genius like Yu, he was able to think on his feet. Ning was surely somebody who did what he was told on the battlefield, killing everybody between point A to point Z.

Shang Xiang glared at him when he smirked at her. That infuriating smirk that just said 'I know what your thinking, babe. And I know what you want'. The infuriating kind that made her heart beat faster. She made a point to look away from him-he wasn't wearing any shirt _again_ and turn to her father. "Hello Daddy," she said with a grin. "Guess what?"

"What, dearest?" Jian asked, finding his seat as a maid came hustling out with a tray.

"Quan almost impaled himself on his sword today." That made Jian fumble with his napkin, and glance back up at her. "Yeah. Xiao said she lost her shirt. It had gotten dirty when she had fallen and it ripped. So, she couldn't wear it again really. But she said lost it. He kind of stumbled, face all red. So did Ce and Ci, but they weren't using sharp objects." Xiao blushed then, glaring at Shang Xiang.

"Really now? I wish my sons were more honorable than that," he sighed, but smiled. "He is alright isn't he?"

"Dandy," Shang Xiang laughed. "His pride is probably bruised, but that's nothing new with Quan. He always finds something to be upset about." Jian rolled his eyes. Shang Xiang made a point not to look at Ning obviously as she finished her meal.

_Okay, I know I've said it before, and I'll say it agian. I don't like Shang Xiang and Gan Ning as a couple. That not withstanding, I can see her crushing on him, and him kind of trying her out. I don't see them as a long standing couple, I don't think it'd really work all too well in all honesty. (All honesty, I can almost see Shang Xiang better as a lesbian than with half of the guys she gets paired with). The whole Shang Xiang and Ce thing in here was me messing around more with politics and the more darker underlying of the Sun Family. They're always look like the perfect family so I wanted to add something a little deeper. So Quan is all jealous of Ce. Shang Xiang kind of crushes on him. Ce's got to carry all the weight on his shoulders and still be perfect. And Jian is just the jolly ol' dad with the perfect kids. At least in this story._

_I actually like this chapter though. I think it's actually kind of good. Please Please Please review.  
_


	9. Chapter 9

Xiao finished her song, silencing the strings on her dulcimer. She glanced up, grinning to Ning. The man moved across the way, and eyed the instrument. It was something the Sun Family and lent Xiao, and she was still trying to figure out how to play with the little mallets. It kept her busy. She set the hammers down and leaned back in the seat. "What is Ning up to?" she asked with a smile.

"Just waiting," he said, glancing out the window, and then to the empty fire place.

"How can war be something to look forward to?" He shrugged.

"I like the adrenalin. The idea that I'm better than all the others. The thought that it might be my last breath. I like the idea of winning," he said, glancing to her. Xiao knew, looking at him, that he didn't care what she thought. He didn't care if she didn't like his answer. He was simply telling it how he knew it. It was one of the reasons Xiao actually respected him. She was nice to a lot of people, but that didn't mean she had to respect them all. It was something not a lot of people understood, but she always just smiled and laughed at them.

"Are you hiding?" she asked, smiling when he glanced back with wider eyes. Not wide, but wider than the usual laid back droop he usually had.

"Why would I hide?" he said, nose in the air and shoulders thrown back.

"Because, ah," Xiao fumbled for some words, "because Tong is like talking to wall."

"That was entirely off," Ning growled, and Xiao shrugged. "He's a pest and an annoyance. The cur needs to figure out he ain't got damn on me."

"Naughty tongue."

"Shuddap." She giggled and spun around.

"He not that bad I think," Xiao said, feeling peppy. Her grammar always worsened when she didn't stop to think about it. She hadn't yet told anybody about what happened in the tree, and didn't really think about it anymore.

"Says the girl who is able to avoid him."

"He's… hurting."

"Aye, hurting me." Ning huffed.

"Ning's getting beat up by a little snot nosed boy!" Xiao started to chant, bouncing around. Ning pushed her, and she stumbled, barely catching her footing.

"Brat," he said and stalked out of the room. Xiao watched him leave, and deciding he really wasn't upset, she laughed. She leaned out the door; being interrupted with her music made it hard to go back sometimes, and tried to pick which way to walk. She'd get lost either way really. Xiao had a bad memory. Da said she just didn't care enough to remember. Xiao tried not to argue the point. Picking left, because she always went right, she skipped down the hall. It was then, coming around the hall jumping more than walking-not her more brilliant of thoughts-she landed ungracefully in the arms of Yu.

Xiao thought she knew awkward. She and awkward were quite close actually, real good friends some would say. But then, Da had always said you would know when you _knew_ someone. Xiao decided she knew awkward. Yu, arms around her waist, had fallen to the floor, his knees up cradling Xiao in his lap. One of her knees was against his chest, the other laying in an awkward position to the side. Her dress surely wasn't proper. To make matters worse, Xun was staring down at them, looking as if the world was crashing down around him in some sort of apocalyptic manner. Xiao was quite sure, with no doubt in her mind whatsoever, that her face was redder than the Wu flag.

"Hi," she said finally as she slowly leg go of his shirt.

"My lady," Yu said quietly, breathlessly. Xiao wondered if she was heavy.

"Oh my," Xun gasped, "are you alright?" He had no idea what to do. Xiao glanced up at him with a smile, her loose leg twitching a little. The floor was cold.

"Xun, calm yourself," Yu ordered, hands still holding her waist.

"I'm not first time falling-er…" Xiao stopped herself there. She knew that was entirely wrong.

Yu laughed, probably more at her face than what she said. "If you will stretch out your leg, I shall try to untangle us, my lady."

"Oh, okay," Xiao said cheerfully.

"You seem… happy," Xun said, wringing his hands.

"It's expected, yeah?" she laughed. "I didn't take right way, I went left. It's obviously a left day than. Abnormal things happen on left days. I find life is… funner if you don't fight left days."

"Left…days?" Xun glanced to Yu, who shrugged. The taller man was simply counting himself lucky. He wasn't, he guessed, having a left day.

"Well, it's obviously not right," Xiao huffed, sliding off of Yu's lap. She flapped her dress and then smoothed it.

"But, I had the impression that…" Xun stopped there, pointing between the two.

"Oh, yes," Xiao smiled. "I would wish to avoid him at all costs. It is awkward, and somewhat scary. But left days make me blush and squirm and do things I don't want to. Avoiding them makes them worse." She swayed a little. She wouldn't tell them, she wasn't stupid, but pretending things didn't happen, to run off blushing, would really only make it worse. If she stood there, facing them and pretending to be alright with it all, they would be put off. That made things less awkward for her, because they had no idea how to respond. It was the best way to get through an awkward situation, in Xiao's opinion.

It seemed to be working well with the two strategists as well. Xiao, however, didn't expect Yu to jump back so quickly. It made her remember that the link wasn't there, and reading him wasn't as easy. "You, then, have these sort of days often?"

"Only this bad on the Wu estate," Xiao shrugged. If he didn't stop talking, she'd probably break and run.

"It is not becoming of the Estate to give our guests, our lady guests such off days. If you would be so kind as to allow me to perform a formal apology on behalf of the Estate, I would be honored to do so." There was enough of a teasing tone that Xiao had to giggle. But then she had to frown, which she quickly hid from the watching eyes. Why was he still so nice? It didn't make sense, Xiao thought, not listening to the formal apology. He was exaggerating anyway. But that was what was wrong. He should be teasing her. He should have wanted to be as far away from her as possible. He should have hated her.

"Hey, big tall and girly," a voice said, and Xiao could have kissed whoever it belonged to. Until she saw Ce. Saying she wanted to kiss Ce sounded wrong.

Yu reluctantly turned, saying "Yes, Ce?"

"Pops wants ya. He has questions on some books. Meng is in there with him."

"Isn't Meng babysitting Tong?"

"Yeah. I put Tai on him. That'll make the kid appreciate Meng."

"Makes anybody appreciate a conversation," Yu sighed. "Fine." He motioned to Xun, and with a slow, wanting bow to Xiao, the strategists left.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank," she stopped mid sentence to stare up at the grinning prince. She hadn't thought about it. She hadn't considered it, but Ce should have hated her as well. She hadn't worried about him; he hadn't changed since the night. It had, then, passed her mind that he was the same as Yu. That he should have been very upset with her. But he smiled the same as he had before. He laughed with her. He teased her. She hadn't thought about it, had just fallen back into the norm with him and the others. She had only been concerned about Yu. But Ce was the same, wasn't he?

Xiao took four steps back, only because she had stumbled, and glared up at him. He actually looked worried and upset about it. "Why?" Xiao demanded. It was easier to talk to him. Talking about it with him didn't seem as personal. She hadn't felt him.

"What?" Ce raised an eyebrow at her. "Why what?"

"Why! Why are you so nice? You don't hate me! You don't… you and him… its not fair! You need to follow the… the…guidelines!"

"Guidelines?"

"Of living! They make life easier! But you… him… so confusing!" She threw her hands up in the air, letting the air out with a whoosh. Ce tried not to laugh at her.

"What didn't we follow?"

"Everything! After _that_ you should not be so nice." Xiao suddenly felt like crying. It was all too much. He was too much, and he hadn't even done anything. It was all her fault. But he was too much.

"That?"

"Yes, _that_!"

"That?" He pulled off a clueless face.

"The garden you dope!" Xiao glared at him.

"Oh, that," Ce said with a small chuckle. Xiao stared at his face, his expression. He couldn't have really forgotten could he? Could that be forgotten? She didn't forget, Da surely didn't forget. Could he have? But then, did it mean so little to him that he forgot? What did _that _mean? Xiao let her shoulders drop, and realized she was going to cry. She pursed her lips, sniffed, and tried not to. Panic filled his expression now.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't cry. I'm being stupid. I'm sorry." Xiao knew he probably couldn't understand her. Her accent was becoming thick, and she was sniffing. She desperately tried to hold the tears. Ce swooped down and picked her up bridal style. She held his shirt and mumbled "I can walk." He didn't respond at all. He found a bench across from an open window and set her down. She stared at her hands, almost hoping he'd just leave. Almost hoping that. He did turn, making her start to panic. He walked to the window, holding his hair back, and then walked back to her and dropped to his knees to stare at her eyelevel.

"Alright," he said slowly. He didn't sound upset, or panicked, or anything but calm. That was nice, Xiao thought. Though he did look uncomfortable. Apparently big bad soldier boys didn't like little girls crying, she thought with half a smile. "What exactly is the problem?"

"You shouldn't like me anymore," she mumbled, concentrating so he would understand.

"And it upsets you that I still want to be your friend?"

"You want to be my friend?"

"Do you understand what friend means?"

"Kind of. People who like you… and sort of like to have fun with you?"

"Sort of," he said with a nod. "Why is that bad Xiao?" Ce smiled. If nothing else he was developing his parenting skills.

"You shouldn't like me. I did… a bad thing."

"What did you do?"

"I made a link with Yu. And that's not good! You don't understand the strictness of that! He… those links can alter your lives. And the door that is the link…" she tried to remember how it was explained to her. He waited patiently. "The door that is the link can be blocked but when opened it can create a… a… dangerous place. The energy can flood and that will… the flood will harm… the area. Not just you or your partner, but without a … funnel it can be…dangerous. And with a year gone by we… the link could have drained you of…. Because we weren't watching it and helping it. So we hurt you! And we broke laws! It's not just an oopsie!"

Ce ignored the last sentence, as hard as it was. "But nothing happened Xiao. And even if it had, I don't think we would have hated you. You two didn't mean us harm. You two were trying to help us. Why would we hate you for that? Maybe be upset with you. Maybe be mad at you. But I wasn't raised to hate people, Xiao. And neither was Yu. He wouldn't be my sworn brother if he was hateful. He's too logical to be ruled by one emotion. You don't need to be scared of us. Of our reactions. We aren't going to hate you Xiao."

"Why? Everybody is supposed to hate us…" She reached for his hand, and he let her hold it.

"Because, darn it," he said, making sure she looked up. "I'm a Somebody Xiao. That makes all the darn difference." She giggled, and wiped the some of the tears away with her sleeve.

"Thank you."

"You're doing better?"

"I don't all understand all. But I think I can handle… you accepting me."

"Yu would like that too, I know."

She blushed, and glanced down the hall he went. "He… is awkward."

"I think," he said slowly, as if testing the ground, "me, you, Yu, and Da all need to find some better ground." He made sure he still held her hand.

"That would… help Da," she said, just as slowly as he did, glancing at him from under her bangs.

"It'd help everybody, and a somebody." She giggled again, swatting at him.

_A pivotal point in the story I think. Lefts change the world! Anywho, I'm not sure how much I like this one. I seem to be writing from Xiao's POV a lot, but she's doing the most so I guess that's more interesting. Though I could go to the boys POV but... yeah. I wanted to convey the idea that Ce was kind of playing the situation to his advantage. He's not hurting her, but he does need things to go his way. I wanted to kind of convey that. Hope I did. Other than that, things are going pretty slow. I need to go back to Zhen Ji (remember? Yeah, she's in this story guys!) and the whole Wendigo ordeal. Since, ya know, that's the plot. Reviews are always appreciated!_


	10. Chapter 10

**J**i slowly made her way through the hall, glaring at anybody who even looked like they wished to talk with her. It had been a few days since the link had been established with Ci, but she still could feel the throbbing in her head. It made interactions with others quite short and snappy.

She stopped when she felt the pull. It wasn't a throb, though it hurt. Like somebody had slapped a bruise on her leg. She turned, noticing Pi was walking towards her. But that didn't matter. Their game was on hold, she thought snidely. She walked passed him, and he called out to her. She didn't pay any attention to him, and followed the pull. It led her outside, which she wasn't entirely dressed for. Ci already stood out on the steps, looking to the sky. His beard and hair whipped around him, as if warding all others to stand away from him. The grey robe pulling against his legs. She half expected to see all the sagging skin flapping in the wind too.

"You summoned?" she said over the wind, pulling her hair into her hand to hold it from the wind. She hadn't felt like fighting it up into some clip or another, not with her migraine.

"I had thought you would have wanted to greet your sisters," he said, turning his head to smile at her. She looked to the sky as well. Pi was beside her now, but instead of saying anything he too looked. He was smart boy.

Two wyrms spiraled down. The first to land was a mix of green scales and white horns. The Wyrm was very smooth, even the horns hardly causing any sort of distraction for the flow. It raised its head high, before completely lowering itself for Yue Ying. The woman slid off of the dragon, smoothing her lush white coat before walking forward to Ci. Ji tried not to glare. She and Ying had never been on good terms, which wasn't the smartest thing Ji had ever done. Ying had married one of the higher Powers.

Next landed a white dragon. Pure as the falling snow, the beast almost seemed to glow. It was one of the smaller Wyrms in the Home, though the Rider, Xing Cai had been able to fully make use of what most would consider a flaw. Cai as well was somebody who should not have been made an enemy. Not that she hated Ji, like Ying. Cai was the daughter of the man who had stopped thousands, a large shoe to fill. And the young girl was doing a fine job for her start. On her own, the girl was a challenge, with her father, a Sentinel for the Powers, she was down right untouchable.

Though her father was rather easy to take care of, if given the right time to face him. As a Sentinel, he had earned his rank. He was a strong man, with a stentorian voice. Yet he was easy to anger, and was not the smartest. No, Ji could handle such a man if given time. But Cai would grow, and she would follow her father. If let to live long, she would easily become one of the High officers of the Home. And that, Ji thought, was reason enough to play nice with the girl.

All three of the women gave the customary salute, before turning to Ci. "The warriors of Shu shall be arriving shortly."

"You left them alone?"

"The generals asked me to. They needed a letter to Cao Cao as soon as possible, is what the Liu Bie said. They have strong generals. I trust in them to make it."

"Really? And what brought on this?" Ci asked, still smiling.

"Time," Ying said, and then turned to Cai. "Take the leader to the Master of Wei."

"This way," Ji said finally, and Cai nodded. Giving Ying one last glare, which was fully matched, she led the younger one through the halls.

**H**e made his way around the forest. The snow crunching under him, the wind giving a howl, he couldn't stop himself from being wary. The woods weren't truly his domain, and he wasn't yet sure he was willing to trust it. He hadn't felt like trusting much in a long while. But things were beginning to look up, after such a dreadful, if not amusing, experience.

He still could remember the final battle with Cao Cao, or so everybody had believed. The thought of loosing, the idea of loss, it had been a new experience for him. It was something that he didn't like. Something he was never going to feel again. The screams around him, the fear, the traitors. It was all still haunting. And that was what made him like the woods, if not trust them. The cold suited him, now. But more so, it was closer to Cao Cao. It was closer to the man who ruined him.

He turned quickly, and stared down at his general. One of the few who hadn't deserted him at the last battle. And his only fighting man that made it out with him. He too was hugging his fur jacket. His blue eyes unreadable. But that didn't matter. He was a trusted man, full of honor and pride. He was not one to betray. He was dedicated and loyal. It was in everything he did. The general glanced around, before finally speaking. "They are restless again. Your horse is becoming antsy as well. The only ones that remain sane is the Lady and Gou San."

"Diao Chan is not calm," he corrected.

"That is most likely true," the general said with a nod.

"Have they touched my Red Hare?"

"No, but you know the horse does not like them."

"Does anybody?" He turned again and stared up passed the branches of the trees to the cold grey sky. The general remained silent, waiting behind him. "Fine. I shall return. San no doubt refuses to associate with the Scavenger Demons."

"They are scary things. If nothing else ugly, my lord Lu Bu."

"Looks mean nothing," he said, stomping passed him.

"To warrior's maybe."

"Stop trying to be smart, Liao." The general chuckled, but nodded. The Wendigo King made his way through the woods, back to the giant mountain that was his castle. Soon he would have what it would take to topple the Wei. And that was reason enough to smile. No flying worm, no strategies would be able to stop him, as soon as the fight truly started. Soon everything would be normal. His name would be said with fear, and he would again rule. Things would again bend to his will. And that was reason enough to smile.

**X**ing Cai sat under the extended wing of Hope, stopping the snow but not the wind. It didn't really matter though. The wind was gentle. The green banners filled the entire area, the army settling in. Things would be chaotic, the Wei soldiers already grumbling and glaring. But the real mess would start even before Wu arrived. Though, one could only hope the Red Tigers would be able to make it all the way north.

The Wendigo were far to controlled. No doubt they would be waiting for the Wu army, once it got out that Shu had arrived. That was going to be dangerous. Their Mistress would probably arrive with Wu, for further protection. The more soldiers's around greatened the moral, if nothing else. Wu dying before they even arrived would not.

Reaching for the biscuit in the satchel at her side, she nibbled on it. It even wouldn't be that surprising if a few of the Sentinels or Powers arrived. Though it wasn't hard to guess which ones would arrive. Those with blood lust, or plain pride. They would be the first to volunteer. She silently hoped her Father would come. He always calmed her nerves. She glanced up when she heard the crunch of snow. She gave a small smile up at the boy.

He was her age about. Few people ever really remembered their true age exactly. It wasn't all that important for the commoners, or for soldiers. But he was still young. Brown hair falling around his face, body built hard. He was surely going to be a prize to any woman, and a match for any man on the opposite end of his halberd. "May I sit?" he asked, glancing up at Hope.

"Of course, Ping," she said, pocketing the biscuit. He sat, be didn't rest against the Wyrm. He stared at her, but she didn't pay attention to that. It was fairly obvious what he thought. Cai prided herself in schooling her emotions. For that, it was easy to observe those around her, and he was no exception. She rested her arms on her knees, continuing to stare out at the soldiers. She couldn't afford to get attached. She couldn't count on anything here, in the foreign land surrounded by those who would hate her as soon as she flew away. She wasn't as strong as she pretended to be, sometimes.

"Rumors are already spreading," he said after some silence.

"Yes. Sometimes it is hard to not compare soldiers to the young maidens that surround the fires in the kitchen back at the Home," she said, glancing over to him.

He grinned in good humor. "A man's drama, war is."

"Women send their vile energy through words, men through action. It is not for mortal men to say which is worse," she said, almost to quiet for him to hear. He didn't say anything in response though. Letting his arms drop to the snow, clearing it away to the dirt with his fingers. She gave a small sigh, her breath grey with the cold. "What are the men saying?"

"They are already saying that we will simply be used as decoys and fodder for the battle." He looked up, staring at her eyes. Probably searching for an answer, or a worry.

"I doubt we'd use such an uncouth manner of strategy against the Wendigo. Besides, monsters would be expecting that as much as you men are." She sniffed, turning back to glare at all the men. It was true. Until somebody better came along, it was likely Yue Ying would be the spokesperson for them, for the planning stages at least. While the red haired woman was many things, she was smart. She would see more potential in the soldiers than for them to simply be fodder. Not to say they would be much more than that, should things take a turn for the worse, but at the beginning stages it was right to think otherwise.

"I'll be sure to tell the men," he said, a rise in his voice. She smiled gently his way, and he almost seemed to blush. It was wrong, she thought idly, to sit with him as such. He would be led to think other things. Things that would never be true. He was a friend. Somebody she would probably, if she already hadn't learned to hold dear. But a brother, or a best friend. He wasn't somebody she desired. And for that, she was sorry. He was such a fine man, a catch no doubt. But he stirred nothing inside her. As such, it made her feel guilty when Zhao Yun showed his handsome face.

He leaned under the wing, smiling like he always was. Cai stare up at him, fighting the creeping blush. He glanced at both of them, and her heart sped up when their eyes met. "I'm not interrupting am I?"

"Not at all, Master Yun." She tried not to sound to excited, so happy. It was hard to keep it all controlled. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Ping's shoulders droop. Again, the sharp pain of guilt hit her. She shouldn't be feeling anything, for any of them. They were all soon to hate her. Or, if not hate, then forget her. She would fly away, and it would never again matter what she said here, under Hope's wing. And that was what hurt the most.

He smiled again, her heart going far too fast. "Most of the tents are being pulled out now. I was looking for you two. You would have thought it would have been easy," he said with a chuckle. She gave the smallest of laughs with him, Ping silent. "You two should pick your spots, before the good ones are taken."

"Yeah, of course," Ping said, trying to sound cheerful. "I'll go… pick mine."

"Guan Yu is over by our Lords, if you want one by him." Ping nodded, and stalked off. Yun watched him go for a moment, before looking back to her. She tried to talk. It was hard, when she was alone with him. "Is Hope going to sleep elsewhere?"

"I'm hoping she will be able to stay here. She is small enough, of the four here," she said. "But since Rainbow must stay on the grounds, I am unsure as to whether Hope will. Ying might let her stay, for safety measure. If she is, I am camping with her. If not, I will take what room is left."

"I shall save a nice spot for you, Cai. Just in case." She blushed, trying to hide it with her hair. It was only be nice, as was his way, she chided.

"Thank you," she said finally, catching her voice. He smiled back, nodding. Then, with a salute to Hope, he left her alone. Which was probably more dangerous. Her mind tended to wander, and that, she always knew afterwards, was going to cause a lot of pain by the end of the day. Cuddling closer to Hope, she kept her sense open for Ying. She was going to have to talk to her about Hope. Which altogether was now confusing. Did she want Hope to stay, or not? She guiltily looked up at her sleeping dragon.

_A chapter without Wu. Is that sad? I don't think so. I kind of like this one actually. Has a new feel to it. But, other than that, writings have been slow. Maybe it'll pick up, after next month. Next month is going to be hectic to say the least. But I'll try to get something out._


	11. Chapter 11

"My butt hurts!" Shang Xiang yelled, and then looked around for the appropriate response. This would be to pity her and come up with a solution to stop her butt from aching. She, however, didn't get the right response.

"Too much information there, Shang Xiang," Quan said, making a face.

"I'm siding with Quan on this one," Ce said, slowing his horse a little with a chuckle. "You can keep your butt aches to yourself Shang Xiang."

"You can't tell me your butts aren't hurting."

"No, mine isn't," Quan snapped, looking indignant.

"Well yeah, your's is used to strenuous rides, ain't it Quan," Ce said, wiggling his eye brows. Shang Xiang broke out in a fit. Quan stared at them both for a moment, before yelling in anger against them. Shang Xiang couldn't stop her laughter. Ce nudged his horse, and trotted away from Quan, laughing himself. Yu glanced back at them, hearing enough to understand why Ce was moving to ride beside him.

"You should be nicer to your little brother," Yu chastised, glancing at Ce.

Still snickering, he shrugged. "Not my fault he sets himself up so nicely."

"Really Ce, you don't notice?"

Ce sobered a little then, turning to stare at Yu. "I notice."

"And? That's it?"

"What am I supposed to do? Cater to him? I'm not going to pity my brother, Yu. And I can't sympathize with him. I've never been through what he is. I'm not exactly the third wheel in any circumstance."

"That's not egotistical."

"I never said I was humble," Ce huffed. Yu laughed, which brought a smile to Ce's face again. Ce glanced to Yu, and then back up to the sky. Through the few trees, he watched the white clouds drift across the sky. It was improbable that he would see them flying. They were scouting, watching for danger. They weren't going to be right above them. But Ce couldn't stop himself from trying to see the wyrms. Yu glanced up as well, before sighing and shaking his head.

Yu had yet to realize the little, and by little Ce meant miniscule plan he and Xiao had thought up. Which wasn't even a plan, if Ce didn't want to humor himself. Xiao was going to try to work on Da, and Ce was going to help her talk to Yu. That was basically it. Which, in Ce's opinion, meant throwing Xiao to the wolves. Leave her with Yu as soon as an opportunity arose. She'd thank him for it later, he was sure.

They all stopped to camp, the tents going up only after the wyrms had landed. The three lizards were to stay around the camp. They would be the first to know if a Scavenger Demon started brown nosing around. Ce stretched his legs, hoping he wasn't going to be walking too funny after such a ride. Shang Xiang looked horrible as she waddled around, and Ce refused to look like that.

Yu, of course always perfect, walked only a little stiff legged, hair up in a high ponytail. It was finally long again, and swayed much like the women's. Ce was waiting for the time to fall back on the all old jokes with his sworn brother. If he wasn't walking like he did, Ce would have started the cat calls. It was always amusing the way Yu grew so serious about it. Eventually Yu was going to find a comeback, or at least something against Ce.

Xiao was standing beside Da, arms waving as she spoke. Ning was already gone, doing who knew what. Ce hadn't really liked the man since that night. But he couldn't bring himself to hate him either. Ning was probably only doing what he had been raised to think, and act on. Ce couldn't hate him for that, just like they didn't hate Ce's people for hating them. It was something that was probably just apart of the culture.

Da caught his eye, but she quickly looked away. She kept her back to him, glancing to Xiao as she spoke. Quan walked up next to Ce, watching them for a moment. "They had been opening up," Quan said finally. He then turned his sly eyes to Ce. "Any idea _why_ they stopped?"

Ce glanced over at him, smirking. "Not a clue." Ce then walked away. Quan watched him go, frowning all the while. He still didn't understand the Wyrm riders, but he knew they affected his brother. Which was natural. They had saved him. But Ce went farther than that, it was something Quan hadn't been able to put a name to. It wasn't lust. It wasn't love. It wasn't even curiosity. Quan had never been able to keep up with Ce, but Quan tried to keep an eye on him. On Shang Xiang, and the whole family. But Ce seemed to be drifting away from them all.

Xiao lightly jogged away from Da, heading straight for Ce. He stopped for her, grinning when she hopped to a stop. She lost her smile, noticing Quan's almost hostile stare. He turned and left, and she glanced back to Ce. Slowly, she smiled again. "How was the fly?" Ce asked, not willing to ask the real question on his mind.

"Dandy," Xiao said, and he chuckled. "No signs of the Wendigo."

"We probably aren't far enough up for any real danger yet. They've never liked the warmth."

"No. Would melt the heart of ice," Xiao said, almost mumbling.

"Heart of ice?"

"Yea. Said to have heart of ice. Kill by fire." She turned away from him, swatting at the bugs. "Big legends of them back home. Ancient enemy to Wyrms."

"So you guys don't do it for the money?  
"Not really, I think. But economy is important, yea? Brings in money, and economy is… better." Ce nodded. "So far away, the Powers have problem finding ways to trade with others. Secluded it is. So, get paid for protecting everybody." Ce nodded again. It was so easy to forget that Xiao really wasn't as much of a ditz as she came off as. She looked back up at him and gave him another dazzling smile and giggle. "How was ride?"

"Painful. Don't you hurt after flying so much?"

"Sometimes," Xiao agreed. "But mostly only after battles. All tricks and loops strain muscles. This was leisure fly. Not that bad."

"I forget we go slowly compared to you guys. You'd probably get to Wei in a day if you wanted."

"Be a hard fly," Xiao said thoughtfully, finger pressed to lips. "But maybe could. Conqueror could. He has bigger muscles than Grace or Beauty." The two walked in silence for a bit, before Xiao couldn't help herself. "Da talked about you a little bit."

Ce stumbled a bit, but caught nobody's attention. He glanced down at her, and then continued walking. "Did she now?"

"Yea."

Ce sighed. "What'd she say?"  
"That is the funny thing. Not much at all. Rambled mostly. I couldn't really understand it all. But I think what happened scared her.

"Scared? How?"

"I do not know. Da is attentive and smart. She should have known what happened. Or figured it out. That is maybe what she tells herself. Ended it without you knowing, or something. But, I think also, what she felt scared her. You're emotions maybe. Or her's. Something. But the ordeal scared her." Xiao threw her hands up in the air with an exasperated sigh.

"That's an interesting puzzle piece," Ce said.

"Puzzle piece?"

"Yea," he said, mimicking her. She glared up at him, and he laughed. Xiao, unable to hold it, laughed as well. The two continued, Ce making his way to where his father was no doubt going to be watching. Xiao spotted him first, pulling at Ce's hand. She quickly let it go, but pointed up. Ning was with him already. Ce glowered for a moment, but then made leave of Xiao to trek up the hill.

Xiao watched him go, slightly wondering at his quick get away. She, however, realized how much she didn't like Ce when Yu walked up, softly saying her name. Almost in wonder. It pulled at her. It was something that made Xiao wonder at him. How he was able to say her name like that. It shouldn't have been something natural. But Xiao, like always, turned to face him with her usual, childlike grace. It was a natural defense.

"My lady," Yu said with a little more force.

"Master Yu," she said, hands clasped behind her as she swayed. She kept on her smile. Smiles always helped.

"How was the flight?" he asked, still staring at her, almost as if amazed that she still existed or something of that sort.

Xiao glanced around. "I was telling Ce," she said, determined not to just try and flee. "I was telling him that the fly was easy going, compared to other flights." Yu almost seemed pained. Was Ce a tender spot? Weren't they friends? Wasn't that common ground? Xiao thought with a sigh. He was so confusing.

Yu smiled again, down at her. She wished she knew what he was hiding. That smile didn't seem as real. But then, how was she to know? She didn't know the man standing in front of her. "It is good then, that the Prince is taking care of his guests."

"He is attentive." Yu continued to smile. He was unsure of the diminutive woman child. She seemed entirely afraid of him and one moment, but now was trying to find a way to fill the awkward silences between them. Ce had to of had something to do with her change. That much was sure. She still seemed friendly with him, which Yu admitted brought up strong pangs of jealousy. Ce probably was not meaning to, but it angered Yu enough. However, Yu couldn't think of a way to bring the topic up to Ce without awkwardly throwing it on the table and demanding an answer. Which would no doubt work for Ce. "You should go talk with the men, right?" Xiao pointed to Ce and Jian. "Tis an important meeting?"

Yu glanced up at the hill. It looked rather far away, he thought. Standing with her, anywhere seemed to be a good distance out of his way. What was he getting himself into, Yu thought. She was trouble. She was doing things to him. Yu thought about the magic they had spoken of. The gates that the wyrms had unlocked. But he didn't think it was magic. That seemed absurd to him. But then, so would the idea of a link. He looked back to her, and nodded. "That is correct, my lady. If you will excuse me." She nodded, holding her hand to her chest now. He bowed, and left her standing at the foot of the hill. Xiao turned to see Da staring at her, mouth formed into a pout, eyes narrowed. Xiao grimaced and waved.

Da sat up in her tent, hand going to the bow and arrow lying beside her. It was night, the area filled with the sounds of the sleeping. The snores of the wyrms, a few of the guards talking at the edge. An owl off to the side, a few crickets. It was all quiet and normal. So what had startled her? Slipping out from under the blankets, she let the bow fall from her hand and eased to the flap. She touched her link with Beauty to find her content and deep asleep.

She opened her eyes and stifled a scream. She could see the form, a dark shadow on the cloth that was the tent. The form was hunched over, the long arms like wire falling to the floor. Face almost flat, the snout in the air sniffing. She couldn't move, couldn't think, until the monster continued to slink passed her tent. Tapping into the little magic that Beauty had given her, Da slipped out of the tent. Instead of following after the Wendigo, she spun and dashed towards Beauty.

Surrounding her was even more of the monster, trying to tie her down. The fact that they weren't trying to kill her proved that they were being controlled. The fact that they drugged her asleep meant they were controlled. Da dashed to hide behind a tent and reached for Beauty's mind. She probed and pushed, screaming at Beauty to wake up. Slowly the drowsy mind started to respond. Da helped her fight the drugs, wiping at the sweat and trying to keep her breathing quiet. The splash of pink made Da give a sigh, and smile grew on her face when the Wendigo screamed in fear and anger as Beauty reared her head up with a mighty cry. The whole camp ground was now awake.

Beauty snapped at the Wendigo, mind linking to Grace and Conqueror. Da, summoning her little magic, lit a flame in her hand and shot out at some of the monsters. Bursting into flames, the monster screamed. Da stared into their horribly black eyes, then spun around and dashed away. She wouldn't be able to get to Beauty to mount her. Instead, she raced away, some of the monster right on her heel. The soldiers were all charging from their tents, taking on the Wendigo head on. Da knew there would be deaths. She took a quick right, and was terrified to see the Wendigo just go through the tent.

One swung at her, and she fell back to avoid it. The monsters all crowded around her, their mouths open to show their ugly jaded teeth. Drool dripping from their chins, they reached for her with clawed hands. She gave a shrill scream, loss for what to do. Instead of meeting her painful death, Da watched the monsters jump away, one falling dead. The monsters head landed beside her hand, thankfully turned away from her. She looked up to see a bloody Ce glaring at the monsters. Already his arm was torn open, blood dripping down the side of his face as well. But he didn't back down from the beasts. All of them charged him at once.

Da reacted just as quickly, summoning the flames and attacking with him. The monsters fell between the flames and the blade. She fell to her knees, sweating. She felt like lead. She had never been one for magic. It was always harder for her than others. Ce dropped to a knee in front of her. "Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded, continuing to stare at the ground. "No you aren't, are you?" He grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"I am fine," she stuttered, pulling away from his gentle touch. They both turned, Da ignoring the hurt look on his face, to see Xiao holding her bow and arrow with a mighty yell. The flame on the arrow grew with her magic, swirling around and lashing at anything close to her. Xiao let the arrow fly down the lane, and the screams of the Wendigo filled the area, instead of the men. Xiao cheered, pumping her fist in the air.

"Is she ever scared?" Ce mumbled.

Da glanced up at him, before looking back to her sister. "No," she said simply, forcing herself to her feet. Xiao swung around to them, arrow already notched until she saw them. She waved. Da nodded at her, and Ce rose. Xiao dashed over to them after glancing around.

"Ning's gotten to Conqueror and the Wendigo are being pushed back. There aren't a lot of them here," Xiao said in their natural tongue. Ce raised an eyebrow. "We are winning," she said to him.

"It is scary that they were able to drug the wyrms," Da said.

"That's why we weren't warned?"

"Somehow they drugged Beauty. I had to make her wake up."

Ce turned to Xiao, unsure what to say to that, and smiled. Xiao grinned back, swaying giddily. "You looked pretty awesome out there."

"Thank you," she said, blushing. "I'm so glad the magic did what I have told it to do," she said.

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. Sometime the magic does not like to…"

"Funnel through her bow and arrows to the target. Instead, it has simply lashed out at everybody around Xiao. Like it almost did just know."

"I know. I used too much, and was loosing control." Da nodded, still serious.

"That's not good, is it?" Ce said.

"No. But there isn't much Xiao can do without practice. I gained the control, she gained the power," Da said simply. "I can not create a lot of magic, nor are my attacks as strong. She simply has too much and has yet learned to control the magic entirely." Ce didn't get to respond. Da bowed to him and made her way passed Xiao towards the center. Xiao turned to watch her go, frowning.

"She isn't as mean," Xiao said hopefully, looking back to Ce.

"I guess not," Ce said, frowning after her. Xiao sighed, letting her shoulders droop. She touched minds with Grace. The Wendigo were gone into the forest, disappearing in the shadows. The men had won their first battle, Xiao thought. Though the casualties might be great. Who knew how many had been killed before the camp had been awoken. Opening her eyes, she stared up at Ce with a small smile. He forced himself to return in. Then he bowed and ran off to check on the men and his family.

Ce ran as fast as he could through the camp grounds, making it to the largest tent. Inside, Jian sat getting his side bandaged. Ce gave a deep sigh of relief, seeing him. Jian looked up and grinned as well. "There's my boy. Looks like you got in on the action, Ce."

"I hadn't thought the Scavenger Demons to be so sturdy," Ce admitted. "I won't misjudge them again."

"How are your siblings? And the soldiers?"

"The soldiers are collecting the dead. I'm not sure about Shang Xiang or Quan. I haven't seen them yet."

"Hm. And the wyrms? What of them?"  
"I was told that they had been drugged at some point to sleep through the attack."

"Drugged? Is there somebody on the inside?"

"I don't know Pops. I wouldn't think so."

"Very well." Jian stood with a groan. "What exactly do you think of the Scavenger Demons, Ce?"

"They stink. They're ugly. They're actually smart," Ce listed off on his fingers. Jian laughed.

"Sit son. I'll go take a look around. You get yourself patched up." Ce nodded and stepped passed him with a bow. Jian exited, the flap closing, and Ce stared at the body of the Scavenger Demon that had attacked Jian in his bed. The healer was obviously ignoring it.

Shang Xiang hobbled around the area, watching as the chaos died down. She hadn't yet gotten the numbers, but things looked bad. A lot of the tents were destroyed, but from what she'd seen, their provisions weren't totally destroyed. She nodded to some of the soldiers that bowed to her. Hopefully the fact that they won the raid would help morale, and not the other way around. If not, it was going to be a hard trek north. She glanced up when one of the wyrms roared. Conqueror raised his head to the sky, giving a mighty scream. Everybody stared, most covering their ears.

Shang Xiang felt the fear grip her. Without a thought, she ran as fast as she could towards the wyrm, praying she was wrong. Making it around the rubble, not so fool hardy that she'd try to run through it, she stared at the legs of the wyrm and searched for Ning. She saw him when Conqueror raised his wings, almost causing what was left of the rubble to fly. Blocking her eyes, she tried to get nearer to him. His eyes were closed, and she thought maybe he was trying to talk to Conqueror.

Feeling relieved, though she wouldn't say why, she slowed to a stop to watch. Others had gathered around, warily watching the dragon for a cue on what to do. Ning raised his head, and glanced over. She met his eyes, refusing to back down from his angry stare. Though why he was angry she couldn't tell. He pushed himself off of Conqueror, standing on his own. "Shouldn't you be getting that leg checked, princess?" he asked.

She glared at him. "I will, as soon as I check on the Wu soldiers." She huffed.

"If you don't get it fixed soon, it ain't going to fix. You'll limp the rest of your life," he said. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to shake the dried blood free. He had a cut above his eye, and another one on his chin. But they didn't look deep. They just bled a lot. Shang Xiang knew about those kinds of cuts and scrapes.

"I know that," she snapped. "I have been injured before."

"Really? Isn't that a marvel?" He glanced back over his shoulder. He wasn't himself, Shang Xiang thought, eyes narrowing. He was actually being sort of nice. One hand when to her hip, and she took a deep breath.

"What's wrong with Conqueror?" she asked, ready to fight for an answer.

"He's worried about Beauty," he said, and she deflated flat. Then she saw why he was being nice, and her legs almost gave out. He turned with a grimace, one hand covering his ribs. His entire side was red. Some of it was dried, but it oozed from his fivers, covering his gloves in the dark color as well. Shang Xiang would admit, she'd never gone to war before. Her father had never let her actually enter battle. But she had seen some of the wounds, the scars. But, she realized, this was her first time seeing it fresh. She choked for some air. "Thought you were the warrior princess," he said.

She couldn't respond. She turned when some of the soldiers moved forward. "The healer is on his way," the man said, more to Ning than her.

"It's not that bad," he said, eyes drooping as he glanced at her. "It isn't all my blood." As if that would appease her. Looking back, Shang Xiang was happy she didn't break down crying. But the look on his face, like he was going to pass out was terrifying. The fact that the Scavenger Demons had almost put out Beauty, as well as Ning when he had mounted Conqueror absolutely terrified her. Quan came over to her, glaring at Ning as he pulled her to her feet. He bent to carry her, but she shook herself out of his grip.

"No," she mumbled. "I'm a warrior now… I can't be coddled," she said, almost to quiet for Quan to hear. He slowly nodded, almost sadly. "Thank you." Only Quan would let her walk back. Her father or Ce would have carried her non-the-less. Quan put one of her arms over his shoulder, and he helped her limp towards a healer. Ning watched them go, before turning to the healer that was being forced through the circled of men.

_Alright. As of right now, my computer is up and running. Internet is working, and everything. Only thing I haven't quite got fixed yet is the audio. But that's okay. I can do everything else. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Review please._


	12. Chapter 12

Da sat beside Ning, who was lying in his tent. He had been grumbling and groaning since the healer had said he was confined to the tent until they had to move again. Then he might be allowed out. Ning wasn't very appreciative about any of it. "It ain't that bad of a wound," he grumbled. "It just bleeds a lot."

"Because one cannot die of blood loss," Da said, batting her eyes innocently. He growled at her. Beauty was healing nicely, and given a few more days without strenuous activity she'd be close to fully health. The Wendigo hadn't wanted to kill her until she had started attacking. Once they started traveling again, Beauty was going to recline away in a cave until she could fly, and Da would be stuck traveling on foot with the men of Wu. Da wasn't that happy about it, but she refused to complain. "Any word from Ci about happenings?" she asked.

"The Home Rider has left the capital. I think she is going to try to meet up with us, to give us some extra muscle," he said with a frown. Him and the Home Rider had an off and on relationship. It wasn't surprising he wasn't as thrilled as some others that she was coming.

"We will have to keep an eye out for her."

"She'll probably meet us closer to Wei. She is coming from the north. It'll be easier for her to get there."

"Very true. Anything on the Powers or Sentinels?"

"I haven't heard word. It'll take them longer to get here. She might be traveling with them. I don't know." He glared up at Da. She glared right back at him. She didn't deserve either his tone or the looks he was sending her. She hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't her fault he was confined to his tent. She was not going to put of with his bad attitude either. If he didn't want company, well then, she wouldn't give it to him.

"Fine then," she said, stood up gracefully, and left the tent. He glared at her back, and when the flap shut he crossed his arms, ignoring the pain, and pouted. Da glanced around the area, rubbing her arms. She was still tired, feeling weary. But she was able to work. However, none of the men were letting her. Women weren't supposed to work, they said with their sexist looks and hoisting whatever it was she had been trying to do away from her. Xiao easily let the men work, finding something else to do that was entertaining.

Da glanced around, hoping she wouldn't be forced to sit alone somewhere. She refused to return to Ning, and she wasn't going to follow Xiao. She could do this on her own. She turned on her heel and walked off towards one end of the camp. Hopefully they'd all be leaving soon. Then she could just ride. Or walk, if they didn't have a horse to lend her. _That_ didn't sound enjoyable at all, she thought with a frown. She really hoped they had a horse.

"Da!" She looked up to see Shang Xiang walking over, smiling and waving. Da straightened her shoulders and raised her chin a little. Mostly to look Shang Xiang in the eye, but it also gave her a less approachable look. Ever since the link had been snapped, she could still feel the ache sometimes from breaking it, she had felt less safe in Wu. She hadn't felt as trusting. And sometimes it hurt when she saw the disappointed looks in some of the officers.

"My lady," Da said, bowing her head in the slightest.

"Hey, have you seen Ling Tong? I know ya'll try to avoid him, but I need his whiney ass." Shang Xiang continued to glance around the camp area, huffing in annoyance.

"No, I haven't. I had been keeping Ning company. I'm not sure where anybody is," Da said.

"Really? How is Ning? Is he alright?" Shang Xiang suddenly brought her full attention on Da.

"He will be fine once he is allowed to move around again."

"That sounds like Ce. Doctor told him he couldn't do anything strenuous. I bet its killing him. Even Yu's being put to some labor," Shang Xiang snickered. Da nodded her head. It was still awkward, thinking about Ce. But more so than that, Da didn't like the way her heart fluttered when she thought of the way he had looked at her. Like last night, she thought. She didn't like the way the idea of having him around was still a comfort. She wanted him gone. Out of her life. He was only going to cause heart break, and pain. He was, as Ning would say, drama. And that was not something Da needed.

"I shall keep an eye out for Master Tong," Da said finally.

"What? Oh, alright," Shang Xiang said slowly, blinking. "If you see him, send him to the my fathers tent if you would."

"I will. If you will excuse me, I shall be on my way, my lady." Da bowed and stepped around Shang Xiang. The princess turned to watch, frowning with one hand on her hip. She couldn't doddle though, and turned to hunt down Tong. Da made her way to where Beauty was laying. She maneuvered herself so that she lay underneath her wing, hidden from everybody. Curled up, chin resting on her knees; she gave a long withering sigh. She was so bad, she thought. Always hiding. Beauty gave a low growl, the vibrations comforting against her back. Da closed her eyes, hoping the day would pass quickly and they could get on their way.

Yu pushed his hair back, rolling his shoulder with a groan. He wasn't used to manual labor. He wasn't going to admit it, but he wasn't. His style of fighting wasn't even really strong, in the sense of Ci's or Ce's. His sword style was more likely to use the enemies swing against them, knock them off balance, and then strike for the weak spots in the armor. Yu didn't dig trenches for the dead.

His shirt had been discarded, as with most of the other men digging with him. His muscles, far more like wire than most glittered with his pale skin and sweat. His hair was still up a ponytail, messy and slowly falling out. He was rather glad Ce wasn't around. Ce would have had a kick at seeing him struggle. No doubt somebody had thought of Yu, and put Ce somewhere else. Yu would thank them graciously should he ever find out who. Using the back of his hand, he wiped away the sweat and leaned on his spade.

"We are almost done," Ci said, glancing over at Yu.

"That is a blessing in itself," Yu said with a smile and nod.

"Aye. We were lucky so few were killed. It is the wounded that worry me," he said. Yu gave a slow nod, frowning as he looked to the grave he was digging. Yu didn't want to say it aloud, but they were entering a war they really weren't prepared for. And that terrified Yu more than anything else. Because if he continued down that train of thought, he'd fall into things that just _couldn't_ be. Things like Wu loosing. Which led to things like the royal family dying. Which just _wasn't_ possible. Yu had never thought that before, and he refused to let himself think as such now.

Ci seemed to read his mind, and nodded himself. "It's going to be a tricky fight," he said finally, and Yu laughed.

"That is my job," Yu said. Ci nodded, smiling. He then finished his water and continued to dig. Yu followed shortly after.

Xiao sat on a rock, behind one of the tents. Arm resting on one knee, her other leg swinging and bouncing against the rock. Her face was serious, staring out into the forest. Her arm was bandaged, from her bow. The string had taken off some skin since she hadn't time to put on her guard. It stung sometimes, but she was used to that. Pain wasn't new to the clumsy Qiao.

She tapped against her knee, a little beat as she hummed. It always calmed her down. Soon everything would be all safely packed away and Jian would order for the army to move out. He wouldn't want to stay here long. She was anxious about leaving Da on the ground, and Beauty behind. But, she thought with a quiet sigh, it would have to help Da out of her shell. It would just have to. The other option would be that Da would sink lower.

Groaning, she pushed herself off the rock. Landing roughly, she stumbled with her arms flailing before righting herself. "Why do you go so high, when you obviously lack any sort of grace?" Xiao turned to see Tong walking out, loosening his shoulder with a glare.

"What?"

"Never mind," he sighed and walked passed her with a shake of his head. Xiao turned to watch him.

"Were you hurt?" Xiao called, running next to him. Again, he looked startled. "From the attack?"

"Yes. I'm slowly dying. That's why I'm up working, not laying in some tent moaning and groaning, ya know."

"But… if you're dying-"

"Sarcasm goes right over your head, doesn't it?"

"Isn't that like when you're lying? I think Ning sometimes does."

"It's when you don't have to say what you're really thinking." He rolled his dark eyes.

"So, lying." Xiao nodded her head, hands on her hips. "That is not a good thing. You should not lie. It isn't nice at all. It sends bad vibes and makes things bad."

"Huh?"

"Words have power," Xiao snapped. "Good thoughts, good words, good vibes. Bad thoughts… other way. You must be bad vibe full. That must be why you are such a mean jerk."

"Excuse me?"

"It can be fixed though! Just no more lying. Be nice!"

"You're looney."

"That's not nice!" Xiao swatted at him. He leaned back, staring down at her as if she had been possessed. "You have to be nicer! Optimism brings good things! It makes people want to be nice to you, and actually like you. Then they be your friends and you're happy. Don't you want to be happy, Master Tong?" She held her hands together, and stared up at him sadly. Tong stared back, eyes wide. She was actually genuine. She wasn't mocking him, he thought as he stumbled away from her.

"You… you're crazy!" He turned and fled down the tents, running into Shang Xiang. Xiao watched him go, a frown tugging at her lips as she watched. Shang Xiang glanced back at her, waving before pulling Tong away. He didn't look back. Xiao gave a sad sigh and closed her eyes, pulling for Grace.

"Inferno!" the voice cried out, loud and demanding. She really didn't have to call out loud for her mount, but it was always easier to. Then those around her were also warned about his coming. That always made her company a little easier to put up with, really. Her giant mount reared back his head, looking down at her. He was a reddish brown wyrm, larger than all the other wyrms in the Home. It was one of the reasons she was the Home Rider. The other was because she was simply better than the rest.

He had a large, strong jaw. Currently, part of a Wendigo was hanging from his massive teeth. Most creatures tried to avoid eating the disgusting things. But not Inferno, the stupid beast, she thought. His wings were out spread, the three fingers at the tip of his wings clawing at the air. It was something that made him beautiful for ambushes back home. The claws aloud him to hold himself against the mountain walls, if he could hide his color from whatever it was they were preying on. He puffed out some smoke, letting the piece of meat drop back to the floor as he stared down at her, red eyes blazing. He had some blood of the Red Dragons, making him big and temperamental. The blood also allowed him to shoot flames bigger than most other wyrms. Something she just adored him for at the start of their relationship.

She sent him the image, and he took to the sky with a flurry of movement and wind. "He's going," she said finally, glancing over her shoulder with a glare.

"Thank you," the Power said from behind his large white feathered fan, nodding his head in her direction.

"Whatever. Don't expect the place to be in one piece when we finally get there. Inferno ain't going to take nicely to this. And I ain't hiding you, Liang," she said, flipping her platinum hair behind her, one hand going to her curvy hip.

"I shall just be thankful that he is well enough to attack me, my lady." She rolled her eyes, turning to face him fully. "It will be alright if we move while Inferno is gone, correct?"

"Aye. He can find his way."

"You mean the stupid thing knows directions?" another voice cut in, gruff and angry. The woman turned, slamming her fist against his jaw. The Sentinel stumbled back, holding his mouth. "You stupid tramp!" He lunged for her.

"Fei," Liang said, still no louder than before. The stout man stopped. "You should know better than to insult our Home Rider's wyrm. I let you come because you said you could behave yourself. Do not make me question myself." He let the feathers fall into his hands, his bright eyes narrowing under his black bangs.

Fei nodded, but couldn't contain his glare when he again turned to her. "Ain't nobody allowed to call Inferno anything, but me. Get that through your thick, ugly skull you boor." With that, she got out of his face and stomped off.

"I can't stand her," Fei said finally, slowly letting his hands drop loose at his sides.

"She is a strong willed woman who is no doubt a leader. A man who demands demure women would no doubt not appreciate a woman such as Rong," Liang said, turning to walk back to his tent. Fei stayed in the spot, watching the flap of the tent fall. Giving the tent a glare himself, he turned and stomped off. He was only there for his daughter, and for the battle. He wasn't there for the company, he thought with a growl. He needed a drink.

_I didn't want to rush off in them continueing their travels. But, a lot wasn't happening. So, you got this chapter. I'm not sure I really like it too much. Oh well. Criticism and Reviews always appreciated._


	13. Chapter 13

Ji ducked away from the swing, easily dodging each strike with her usual haughty grace. The soldier growled in anger, face going red as he continued to swing. Each one slowly got sloppier, and Ji finally was able to spin around hit his wrist. The sword landed in the snow, and the crowd around them was silenced. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, fixed her fur lined hood, and blew the man a kiss before leaving. She only stopped to give Ying a superior look.

The red haired woman watched her leave with a glare, but did not lower herself to anything more than that. Cai thought turned to watch her leave, covering her gasp with a hand. "I had not realized that she was good on land," Cai said finally, listening to the murmurs.

"You've never been in a squad with that harlot," Ying said finally, turning away from the crowd. Cai moved to follow. "It only makes sense that you wouldn't know about her."

"No, I haven't heard much about her," Cai admitted, catching Lord Pi grabbing Ji's arm and whispering in her ear. "Only you're hate of her and a few rumors of course."

"Of course," Ying repeated. "She came from the other side of the mountain. Her family was rather poor, and trying to avoid the famine that was gathering on the other side. You might remember we too were affected by it some."

"A little bit."

"Yes, well. She came over with her three brothers and father. Their mother hadn't made it. Or she did, but died soon after. Ji was older than most Chosen's at the time, yet Fairy chose her."

"So the foot work she displayed back there was…"

"From her old home. Correct. Her father taught it to her. He had, at some point, been a soldier. She told me once, when we were young and in the same squad, that it was called Freyr Walk, more or less. Purely defensive, very little offensive movement in it. It has saved her life once or twice, I'm sure." Ying too glanced over to Ji, who was coyly flirting with the prince. "It is something she is proud of."

"She is proud of many things," Cai said, frowning.

"Yes, but it is also something she holds dear. It adds to its importance." Ying turned and continued towards Lord Bie's tent. He had a room in the castle, as did some of the generals. But the lord chose to usually stay with his soldiers. Cai watched the woman she had admired disappear in the crowd, and turned to see Ji disappearing behind the large stone doors, Pi beside her. Everybody had their own power, something that made them unique and powerful. Cai knew she needed to find hers, before it cost her a life.

She turned and made her way through the grounds. Hope had taken off, the grounds not to her liking, and Cai had taken Yun up on his offer for the tent. She quietly admitted to herself that she loved his attention. She blamed it on still being young, and growing up mostly around woman. Most men she knew were either Ning, her family, or the old men that were Powers. Thusly, making Yun spectacular. She dodged a few of the soldiers bustling around. Most of the men ignored her on average. She wasn't like Ji or Ying who demanded attention and respect with their presence. She was easy to overlook, which most of the men took advantage of.

She sat outside of her tent, enjoying the chill. It wasn't as cold at home. Almost comfortable. Legs crossed, she closed her eyes and opened herself to Hope. She heard the cry of the wolves. She opened her eyes again, letting the breath of air go and smiled. She would never understand how people could go without constantly feeling protected. To always have somebody loving you, and being able to feel that. She wondered sometimes how many soldiers had wives at home, trying to convey their love. Or children growing up without their fathers. She knew what pain there was in that. Her father hadn't been around very much.

She pulled on her arms, loosening them a little with a smile. The Wendigo hadn't made many moves. Ying was quite sure that they were getting their forces together to stop Wu from arriving. Cai was worried about it, and Ying was desperately trying to think of a way around it. Everybody knew what they needed though. Her husband. She said he was on his way, and that he was working on it as well. Their link was strong. Cai gave a long sigh, staring at her cloudy breath as it disappeared.

Ping was walking towards her again, smiling with a wave. She bowed her head to him. "I can't believe she did that," Ping said finally, squatting down beside her. "That was crazy."

"I had not known she was skilled either. I had known her to be graceful, but not to that extent," Cai said with a giggle. He leaned his head back and stared upwards. Snow was beginning to fall again. Cai stuck her tongue out discreetly. It wouldn't be good to be known as childish, but she just couldn't resist. She bit down hard on her tongue, jerking forward, when Hope sent her the image.

Hand going to her mouth, trying to stop the blood, she concentrated on the image and ignored Ping beside her who was obviously panicking. The forest was up in flames, the giant red wyrm circling around with loud cries and roars. It was a horrific, beautiful image. Cai opened her eyes and stood, letting her hand drop and forgetting about the blood. Turning on her heel, leaving Ping where he sat, she dashed towards the large green tent.

Inside Ying sat with Lord Bie, Yun on one side and Ping's father on the other. Each one stopped to stare at her. All of them stood, face twisted in concern. She could feel the blood slightly oozing from her mouth, and cursed quietly. "Hope sent me a message," she said, swallowing the blood. "I believe it was Inferno," she said, this time looking straight at Ying.

"Then the Home Rider must… How far did Hope go?"

"Nothing great I believe. She was hunting," Cai said. On a full belly the wyrms would not want to fly far to get back to their nest. Hope wouldn't have flown too far from wherever it was she was nesting at nights. Ying nodded, falling back into the chair with a thoughtful expression.

"What happened to you," Yun said quickly, Lord Bei following him with the question.

"I just bit on my tongue in surprise my lords. I had not expected such an important thought from Hope." She blushed under Yun's stare, eyes dropping just an inch away from his face.

"You need to be more careful, Lady Cai," Yu said, and everybody looked up at his voice. "We would be devastated to learn that you could no longer talk from biting off your own tongue." She nodded, blushing a little more, and bowed to each of them.

"I'm going to try and send Pale Moon out to Hope's position," Ying said with a sure nod. "Thank you Cai. That will be all." Cai nodded again, bowing to each of the men in the tent before slipping out. She heard Ying start to explain what had happened as she walked away from the tent. Ping was waiting outside for her, rushing to her side. She could only force herself to smile at him.

Beauty flew over the soldiers with a pained roar, the top of the trees tickling her stomach. As soon as the wyrm had disappeared the camp went back to business, most of the soldiers trying to calm the horses. "Here you are," a younger one said, handing the reins over to Da. She thanked him, and he left as quickly as he had come. Da turned and stared up at the animal, gently petting its neck. She glanced around, cheeks turning red when most of the men were up on their horses.

Shang Xiang, already mounted, trotted over and glanced around. "You okay Da?"

Da tried to disappear, but when that didn't work, she turned with a smile. "Of course."

"Are you scared of horses?"

"No!" Da glared up at Shang Xiang. "Why would I be… no."

"I was hoping not, but had to make sure. Can you mount the horse?"

"Really, Shang Xiang?" Both girls turned to see Quan laughing. He patted his horse's neck, and then steered it around Shang Xiang. "Not going to say a word."

"Says the boy who doesn't understand butt jokes." Shang Xiang glared at him, and he stuck his nose in the air with a huff. "Are you okay Da?"

"I wasn't really sure how to mount…" She stared at her boots.

"But you get on Beauty?"

"It is different with a horse."

"Right, less climbing and crawling," Quan said with a roll of his eyes. "Not to mention the horse is smaller. Of course that would make it so much more difficult."

"Quan!" Shang Xiang slugged him in the shoulder. "Why don't you fall off your godly cloud and be nice. Good grief. I'm sure there are men here who remember your first experience with a horse. And from what I heard, she's doing a hell of a lot better than you did, Mr. The Horse is Going to Eat!"

"Mine wasn't after riding a flying lizard."

"I'd like to see you try to fly a lizard! Bet you'd soil your loins as soon as it looked at you!"

"And what normal person wouldn't?" He snapped.

"Ce didn't," Shang Xiang said, no longer yelling as she glared at him. Quan leaned back, jaw snapping shut. The two glared at each other for a long moment, before Quan turned and pushed his horse forward a bit.

"Tai, please, assist Lady Da onto the horse," Quan said, refusing to look back. Tai, who had been standing off to the side with the reins to his horse, gave a slow nod. Shang Xiang glared at his back until Da was mounted and Tai followed Quan out of view. Da, who was able to keep her balance on the horse, glanced over at her.

"You probably have no idea how to actually ride, do you?" Shang Xiang said, letting her breath go in a sigh as she turned back to her.

"No," Da whispered.

"Best way to learn how to fight is in a duel," Shang Xiang mumbled. "Alright. Stay close with me; I'll help you along the way."

"Thank you."

"Us girls got to stay together out here," Shang Xiang said, winking. Da gave a small smile.

Da rode near the back of the group. She had learned how to keep the horse moving, and she was able to keep her balance upon its back. She had silently taken her freedom from Shang Xiang and the group she had chosen to ride with. It was lonely. She didn't trust herself not to fall off the horse if she was to touch Beauty. Instead she avoided the looks of the soldiers riding and marching, keeping her head high.

Shang Xiang, who was trying to get some kind of response beside honorable politeness from Ci, didn't even seem to notice she had left. Which was for the better really. Da didn't want to be included in their joking. But it hurt just the same. Da loosened her shoulders, growing stiff, and gave a quiet sigh. Once they reached Wei then she could forever cut herself of Wu and be done with all of it. Again, she gave a sigh.

"I think you've done more sighing around here then my sister trying to be subtle," Ce said, coming up next to her. He wasn't looking directly at her, which saved Da a bit. But she still jumped, almost falling off the horse. He was quick, grabbing her arm and steadying her. He was firm, but not harsh.

"Thank you," she said finally, after finding her voice.

"What kind of prince would I be if I let you fall?" he said with a charming smile. She avoided looking at him. "So, I've been meaning to have a meaningful talk with you."

"Meaning?"

"Oh! She makes a joke!" Ce leaned back, dramatically gasping. She glanced at him with a tiny smile. He fell back into his seat. "But, on the meaningful note, I really would like to know what's so scary about me."

"Excuse me?" Da swung around, careful not to fall, to stare at him. Confused, she tried to read his expression. But, he was serious.

"Well, you've been avoiding me. And pretty much everybody. But that's not _that_ new, really. But I was wondering what about me was so scary, and thusly what changed."

Da straightened eyes wide. She almost let her mouth hang open in shock. But she was taught better than that. "Wait, what do you mean? Of course you know why. Are you that much a fool? I had thought it perfectly clear," Da stammered.

"Obviously you left a few people in the dust," he said, still perfectly serious and calm. It was almost infuriating. "Think you could maybe explain things to me? Before, you know, I go, be a hero and die for a cause.(ref: chapter 5)" It took Da a long moment of staring at him before remembering her saying that. Just before they had figured out the link, when they were talking after the war meeting with Lord Jian in the garden. Not one of her best moments, she silently admitted. She then turned to him again, this time with a glare. This time, she wasn't attached to him, she kept repeating to herself.

"I simply no longer wished to be around you. You are merely a southern soldier," she said, forcing her voice to be calm. Forcing herself to face forward, to avoid looking at him, she missed his smirk.

"That would almost hurt as much as being scary. But then, I don't fret over those words." Now she turned to look at him, confused once again. "Because, see, there's this thing where when you have to get defensive you close yourself off to just about everybody."

"And?"

"That means your as transparent as glass, princess," Ce said, smiling. Da gave an indignant gasp, glaring up at him.

_Alright, looks like Ce is getting somewhere. On a very bumby road, but he's moving. Better than Xiao was. At least he can read Da (but he has more information to play with as well). In this I wanted to show that Ce was smart. He wasn't a stupid jock or frat boy or something (like in DW6!). Other than that, Inferno is off destroying things like forests (what else would Zhu Rong go send him off to do without her? Actually fight? Pshh Besides, forests ain't all that. They always end up being creepy when you're running through them, or full of dancing woodland creatures. Who wants any of that?) _

_I don't like how I portray Yue Ying. But she comes off as a buisness woman to me. Especially when there is buisness to conduct. I don't. I'll have to work on her._


	14. Chapter 14

"I'm transparent?" Da seethed.

"Yeah. You're not that hard to read, really. From what I understand of the link, that could have helped a little. Maybe." He shrugged, grinning. "You're angry."

"My, you're right! You are so skillful in reading me! Such an observant man."

"Oh, so it's not just anger then. I think I've offended you." Da sputtered as she glared at him, before huffing and turning away. He had the audacity to laugh. "I didn't mean to anger you. Not really anyway. It is a new experience though. You don't get angry often."

"Most people are not as infuriating as you are."

He laughed again. "But I didn't mean to. I am sorry for hitting a nerve."

"Hitting a nerve?" She swung back around to glare at him again.

"Another wrong choice of words?" He smirked.

"You…" Da groaned and shook her head, trying to calm down. It wouldn't do to make a scene, or anymore than she already had no doubt, in front of the soldiers.

"I just want to understand,"' Ce said finally with a small sigh. "I hadn't meant to offend you." Da turned to watch him, her shoulders sagging. She wasn't attached to him, she snapped to herself, eyes closing as she clenched onto the reins. She wasn't. But didn't he deserve to understand anyway? She gave out a long sigh, opening her eyes to look back at him. He wasn't watching her.

"You asked in a horrible way."

"I got off topic," Ce said, head swinging back to smile at her. Not his teasing grin, but actually smiling. She refused to acknowledge that.

"A lousy excuse that is," she said with a huff. "But I do suppose you have a right to know a few things. That being the case… When we set up camp I will answer some questions you must have." She glanced at him, and then to the sky. Perhaps she could get Xiao to sit with her. It was far more likely that she wouldn't, but Da hoped beyond hope.

Ji slowly trailed her fingers down Pi's chiseled chest, outlining each muscle before coming to his pants. Trailing her nail across his hips, just above the pant line, she laughed lightly when he grabbed her hand. Pulling it back up, he kissed each finger, staring at her with his cool eyes. "You shouldn't be such a tease," he said between each finger.

"What fun would there be in that, my lord," she whispered into his ear, lying her head down. He chuckled, letting her had drop down to his chest again. The banging on the door had them both sitting up, Ji already off the bed and flipping her hair with a sigh. He glanced up at her, eyes narrowing. She sauntered to the door, leaning on it as she opened it.

"Fairy said you were coming," she said, staring at the red head.

"Yet you didn't come?"

"I rather like the idea of you having to walk all the way through the grounds to come fetch me. Have to get those legs to stop flapping somehow, right?" She batted her eyes almost innocently. Ji wasn't quite sure how to make anything look completely innocent. Ying seethed on the other side, glaring at her. "Why you didn't just send a soldier, or Cai for that matter I'll never know."

"Because unlike you, I don't pretend I'm worth more than I am. I'm not pretentious little tramp who plays off of others to try and compensate for things I lack. Like a personality beyond the mirror."

"Well now, who knew the local Uriskwas so opinionated," Ji said with a smile.

Ying took a deep breath before continuing. "We are planning a meeting to try and save the people of Wu. We _need_ Wu to get here. Something must be done to make sure they arrive. Rong is not going to be able to save them on her own. You _will_ come down to the tents and sit with us while we plan. You might want to bring your newest toy down as well. The other Lords are coming."

"I'll be sure to let my lord know. Is that all? You can go now." Ji waved, and shut the door. She then turned to see Pi standing, already dressed and watching her. "Apparently I am needed my lord. But you are more then welcome to join, the beast says."

"What is it about the Shu Rider that irks you so?" Pi asked, stepping to her, close enough that she had to look up.

"Anything? Everything?" Ji smiled, and then spun around while opening the door, slipping out with a coy smile. He followed after her, smirking. She didn't look behind her as she walked down the hall, letting him catch up to her when he pleased. Ying was right; he was only her most recent toy. She would be done with him as soon as the threat was done and they flew off. No reason to tell him that though.

The army came to a stop, a quiet sigh of relief spreading quickly. Da dismounted, and would have fallen had she not been holding the saddle. She tested again before letting go of the horse. She had no idea where to take the animal, but somebody came to take Ce's horse and took hers to, after Ce said something for it. He then turned to her, smiling again.

"I was hoping the questions could wait…" she mumbled, but then forced herself to look him in the face. She couldn't cower before him. "I would very much like to first get my tent up, as well as to eat."

"That's fine. I couldn't talk right now anyway. I'll find you later," he said with a bow. She watched him go, before turning her head upwards. Ning and Xiao had already landed, waiting for the soldiers to catch up. The animals didn't like the wyrms, and so it was easier to land before hand. Da, however, was more looking for Beauty. Almost in earnest. But Beauty would have contacted her.

She turned away from the way Ce walked, spotting the head of Grace. She was already lying down; Xiao was sitting on her neck, looking like she was arguing with Ning. Da hurriedly made her way to them. Ning had insisted he be allowed to fly, and the doctor had allowed him. He looked sore, but fine. That made Da smile. Xiao saw her running and waved with a smile and laugh. Ning nodded in her direction. "How was the horse?" he asked.

"Slow," Da said, picking her word carefully. He nodded again, hands in his pockets. He then craned his neck back to face the sky, eyes closed. She turned to Xiao, smiling. "The fly?"

"Uneventful. Nothing we saw looked like Wendigo," she said. "It's scary how easily they hide."

"The land is said to be on their side. As the sky is ours."

"It's scary," Xiao said, frowning.

"We ain't used to being land bound," Ning said finally, letting his head drop to look at the soldiers setting up the tents. "It's change. And change ain't ever going to be anything but a little scary."

"Does that mean you're scared, Ning?" Xiao asked.

"A little," he admitted with a grin. "I'll admit a little. But what's anything without a little fear, some adrenalin, maybe a bit of anger. It's all needed to make an experience worth it."

"Well, I could do without the experience," Da mumbled with a huff. "I was quite happy just burning rubble."

"No you weren't. You were sick of that. It terrified you. And you didn't like knowing you might be killing people," Ning laughed. "But you'd go back to it now real quiet, with no complaints." Da turned to him with a glare.

"You wouldn't though, huh Ning. You like this," Xiao said, sliding off of Grace's neck.

"I wouldn't go back into hiding if Rong told me to," he said.

"I don't know how you can like to fight. To kill. To constantly be in danger."

"Not all men like it. Very few women do."

"We are the sensible half."

"But some soldiers get it," Ning continued, ignoring her. Da huffed, shaking her head.

"What's there to get?" Xiao asked, pulling out her ponytail and running her fingers through her hair.

"A lot," Ning said, turning to her. "There's a lot to get. But I hope you two girls never do." He then turned, walking into the mayhem that was the campsite. Xiao reached for Da, holding her arm. The two glanced at each other, before glancing at his back. Da usually considered Ning something between an egotistical jerk and a lazy no good deadbeat. But there were moments when she had to change her opinion of him. When he had her respect for more than just being an amazing warrior.

Ce walked up to her after the meal. She had been sitting outside, leaning against one of the trees. The trees were growing bigger, and more of them were appearing. It was turning into Wendigo territory. None of the trio had brought it up. But the wiser of the men were already coming to the conclusion. Ce hadn't changed though. She wasn't sure what'd she think if he did change.

He sat down beside her, legs stretched out. "This a good time?" he asked.

"I suppose so," she sighed. She hadn't been looking forward to it. "What is your fist question?"

"Ning told you that he explained some things, right?" Ce said, turning to her now.

"Not in so many words," Da said. "More like, they won't bother you about it. But, I took it as he told you both a few things. Does Lord Yu not want to know?"

"He was invited?" She shrugged. "Didn't know that."

"Fine. First question?"

"Did it really not hurt for you?" He glanced at her. "Truthfully?"

"It felt like somebody preformed the Bloody Eagle on me. And were quick enough to squeeze my beating heart still." She glanced over at him now, frowning. "But I had known and expected it. We are trained to think passed pain. They said they hoped to train us, so should our Wyrm die we would no be vulnerable. They never can. I could only hide it from you. We did not get far before we collapsed, hearing only the blood rush through our heads. It was not pleasant."

"But you said nothing… did anything about it?"

"What was there to do?" She shrugged. "There was nothing to do," she answered.

"Ning said that you two withdrew yourselves from the link."

"You can withdraw yourself. Close yourself to your partner. With wyrms it is difficult. They are strong mentally. They are demanding as well. They are not to be refused. But especially when neither side is trying to fulfill the link, it is easy to withdraw. That is why it was hard for us to understand one another still. We were only getting traces of it, because I denied us both the link. However, that does not lessen the pain. Ning said that so you would not worry no doubt. So you wouldn't do something stupid."

"That's comforting to know," Ce sighed. "He thinks rather highly of me… me and Yu huh?"

"Ever so much, my lord." She turned again to the camp.

"Alright, second question. He said something about gates and magical abilities. The wyrm gives them to you. What exactly is that all about?"

"The wyrm picks us, as it was for the very first. We do nothing, except wait to see if the wyrm will choose. Usually it is children, little girls under a certain age. When she is till to young to bear children, or to become engaged by her fathers will. Before anything of her future is planned, the wyrm usually chooses. Of course, the only thing the Powers don't have control of in that list is when she can bear children." She glanced at him then, and he nodded. "Well, when the wyrm chooses the girl, the wyrm basically gives her power.

"The wyrm gives her so much power that the gates, as you put it flood open. She then usually is able to use some magic. You have heard of the olden days, when wizards and sorceresses ruled? Slowly the magic thinned out, and then left us. Few can name off the spells used. Fewer still have the magic left to use them. It was said it was a curse by a powerful magician, bitter and what not. I believe people just became scared of magic, and slowly people no longer used it.

"As such, if you never open a door in many years, it is hard to open again correct? Those large stone doors wouldn't be very nice to open in thirty, forty years. I believe that is what happened to magic. Not everybody had it; of course those that did exploited it more than once. It became taboo, and then nonexistent. That is my theory. But the wyrms were able to open our doors, to continue the metaphor."

"So what your saying is, to sum it up, that all the wyrm did was open what we closed?"

"Correct."

"Why?"

"The wyrms don't exactly talk, my lord," Da said with a small smile. "But I always thought it was because it is always good to have something extra when going against a Wendigo."

"Is that why the wyrms choose you? Simply to fight against the Wen- Scavenger Demons?"

"Yes. It was why the first was chosen. It is why we are continued to be chosen. So long as the wyrms find a threat in the horrid beasts, they will come to us for help."

"But…"

"How are we a help?" She turned to look at him. "Is that your third question?"

"Aye."

"A good one." She fidgeted a little, crossing her legs and pulling at her gloves. Some of the soldiers had been complaining it was starting to get cold. They didn't know cold, Xiao had said with a giggle. "We are of use because we are able to use magic, most of us. We also think. Wyrms are not stupid. Not in any account. But humans think in different aspects. We build catapults. We build castles. We mine. We are not made to live without these things. We are not physically strong, like wyrms who do not need anything but their teeth, claws, and sometimes breath if they are lucky enough to have some.

"As such, we are able to think of different ways to combat against these monsters. Especially a town. A town full of people who can think. A town full of people with different thought processes who think differently. But, we are more than that. We are healers. That was what connected the first wyrm with his rider. She found him, and began healing him. We can heal. We know medicine. We are not physically a match for the Wendigo. But we can fight these monsters in another way. A smarter way."

"That's a… Alright."

"I apologize if I do not explain things very well."

"You explain a hell of a lot better Ning," Ce said.

"He did not want you to know."

"That too." Ce laughed a little. "So why are you telling me? If he doesn't want to know, why are you going out of your way to help me know? To understand."

Da remained silent for a long time, watching the people bustle through camp. She knew why. She just didn't want to tell him why. She didn't want him to think of her as the horrid thing that he used to. That they all did before they had come. Some of them still did, no doubt. But she didn't want that. She didn't want them to continue to think of them as some horrible monster in the sky. Something to use to scare their children at night. She didn't want to be that. But she couldn't say that to him. She didn't want to be attached to him.

"Because you deserve to know," she said finally, taking a deep breath before looking back at him.

"How much you gonna answer?"

"I… I don't know," Da stuttered, looking down at her hands folded in her lap. "What is your next question?"

_So yes, it's sort of an info dump. But at least it isn't me telling you. Its Da with Ce. And I realized she calmed down quick. But Da doesn't seem like somebody who'd want to make a scene under normal circumstances. Xiao wouldn't care, but Da I really think would. And Ji is being bitchy. She's a lot bitchier in this story than I've made her in others. Its a little fun really. And an Urisk is, I quote: **The Urisk is a solitary Scottish elf who lives in remote pools and rivers. He is friendly and likes the company of humans, but his curious appearance usually scares away those he approaches. **I thought it fit what Yue Ying was supposed to be like (ugly-thus less suitors). Its something Ji would play off of (no, their is no Scotland)._

_Is there any questions you have that Ce could ask, and thusly answer?_


	15. Chapter 15

"I'm sorry," Ce said, leaning back now, staring up at the tree tops. "It's not like I just had a list waiting for this." Da nodded, turning so she wouldn't stare at him. How she wished to be surrounded by the familiar faces of her comrades. Not him.

"I'm not in a hurry," she lied.

He smiled over at her, and continued to stare. She refused to fidget. "What exactly are the Powers?"

"Does that really have to do with us-this?" she said, quickly correcting herself. He shrugged, not breaking the eye contact. She sighed. "They are our government. A counsel of mostly men who make all the decisions and the rules for our little town. They reside in the Castle-the tallest building carved from the mountain. As do the Sentinels. They are the soldiers, the guards the patrol and enforce the law."

"Then what is the Home? When you guys have spoken of it, its not like a home I think of."

"It is not. The Home isn't where our family is. It is where all Wyrm Riders go to train and live after they are chosen."

"So you're taken away from your family?"

"It is the greatest honor to be chosen," Da said, smiling. "I would not change Beauty's choice. I have always taken pride in being chosen. That said, I am allowed to visit my family if I have the time. We do not cut all ties with our family."

"But they ride on it too don't they? Your family. Since you were chosen, they too were affected by it."

"Of course. Because Xiao and I were chosen, my family name was elevated some. But it is no different from how your fathers name affects yours." Ce nodded slowly then, accepting the truth in that. He couldn't imagine being taken away from his family. But then, family had always been a huge deal to the Wu household. His father loved each of them greatly, spoiled them no doubt. Shang Xiang flaunting the bow was proof of that. Leaving his family just seemed out of the question for him. But she was talking as if it was the best thing that happened to her.

"I don't know if I totally understand all of this, but I'll accept it," Ce said finally.

"It doesn't matter if you accept it. It doesn't change the truth of the matter," Da said with a small laugh.

"No, I suppose it really wouldn't change much would it? But then, if I don't accept it that could mean that I could change it." Da stiffened then, brows furrowing at the statement.

"Change it?"

"Yeah."

"Why would you be able to change it? Or anything for that matter?"

"Because, you've all said I had the makings to be a stupid hero. Ning has said it enough. And we all know that heroes change things. Mostly through stubborn will. And I'm related to Shang Xiang. I got that." He smirked. Da let herself relax, watching him almost in awe. He was such a stupid man, so why did she feel like supporting him? Like following him? He didn't ask anymore questions, just sat beside her until it was time for them to sleep. They were still going to have a good ride tomorrow, whether Da was too sore to walk or not.

Yue Ying stared down at the land in awe. Fear and amazement. The snow was gone. Any trees that were left were brittle and no doubt going to be gone. The giant patch of land was destroyed. Burnt down, and carried away on the wind. Inferno had already left, flying back to the Home Rider and Zhuge Liang. Ying would never admit it; the Red Wyrm had always frightened her. Added in with their Home Rider's temperament and things often have hot real fast.

Ying signaled to Ji and the two descended. Cai awaited back at camp to protect it. Zhang He was healed enough at the moment to be of help around the camp, and while Fairy couldn't handle a strenuous flight, she could help hold the Wendigo off until they returned if the monsters attacked. They still hadn't come to a final conclusion on Wu, and whatever it was that Inferno had done needed to be checked out. The two glanced at each other on the backs of their wyrms before searching the area.

The two had always worked well together, so long as words weren't involved. Both of them had just enough of a different thought process to see a matter differently that things were easily resolved in missions. Not to mention the two competed with each other to the point of it being considered petty and childish. The two had often been paired together for missions because of the spectacular results. Something the two both agreed they hated.

"Wouldn't this have been your husbands order?" Ji said, kicking some ash up with each step. "I don't imagine our ever possessive Lady Rong to leave Inferno alone to burn up a quarter of a forest." She stopped one hand on her hip, to glance over her shoulder at Ying.

"Probably," she said quietly.

"Well then, what the hell was his plan?" Ji snapped, throwing her arms up in the air. "I see no sign of the monsters. Nothing that wasn't burnt to ash shows no signs of their traveling methods or claws. And I can't imagine Inferno catching all of them camped here. They'd of fled, and there should have been signs."

"I'm not sure. My beloved has always been many steps ahead of all others."

"Hm, Sima Yi will no doubt love him," Ji said, tapping a nail on the burn tree.

"Wei's strategist? He has nothing on my beloved," Ying snapped, glaring.

"Isn't that what I said," Ji said with a laugh, spinning to face her. "Sima Yi is cunning and devious. Your _beloved_ is something else entirely," Ji admitted with a shrug.

"… Thank you."

"Which makes it hard to make my mind wrap around why he's _your_ beloved." She smirked as Ying's face went red. "I can't imagine them just burning the forest though. Would he?"

"I don't know. The circumstances surrounding these battles are different from the usual," Ying said, forcing herself to calm.

"Then what are you good for?" Ying turned to take a deep breath. It wouldn't do to hit Ji, she kept repeating in her mind. It wouldn't solve anything. It wouldn't help anything. She let out her breath and turned again to inspect the area, ignoring the other woman who was just as happy with that.

Xing Cai glanced over at the man. Was it sad that she considered him prettier than her? If she hadn't always been trained to keep her face schooled in a calm manner, she would have chewed her lip of worrying about that. His long dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the silken strands falling down his back. His face had soft lines and a pointed chin. He had many more scars than the last time she had seen him, which only helped remind her that he was a man. Not to mention the way his muscles rippled under the skin. While beautiful, his body rivaled Gan Ning's in certain departments.

He was doing fine after his treatments. A little out of shape, and sometimes sore but otherwise as good as before. He was currently criticizing the whole encampment about how clumsy they were. They weren't beautiful. She had laughed the first time he had said it. She had back at the Home as well. She had never really matched fighting with beauty, and had never seen very much good in a battle. But he did. He had rants ready about the glorious beauty of man and blood. As of late Ping had been absent from her side. She was sure he was rather scared of her most recent companion. She had known men to cower at his actions. Apparently the thought of him maybe being a little too feminine was enough to cow them.

"Ah, our shining grace, Xing Cai," he said, twirling around to face her. "I've not heard about your time with these uncouth men. How have you been, dear?" His voice was deep and musical, using his hands to add to his expression.

"It has been enjoyable, I think. A learning experience no doubt," she said, smiling. He was a man she could trust. She hadn't ever felt she couldn't trust him.

"That it has been. This is the longest I've ever been surrounded by them and their culture. It's a good thing to know, these people. Be them smelly, unmannered, monkeys or not."

"They are not as bad as you make them out to be," Cai chastised.

"When was the last time these men have washed, hm? And look at their clothes. Disgusting."

"Well its not exactly like Wei has opened their baths to the soldiers."

"Its not beautiful."

"Not everything is," Cai stressed.

"No, but I can dream can't I?"

"Dream, but don't judge." He huffed, but then smiled with a laugh. Cai smiled back, pulling at her gloves.

"You are quite the darling aren't you? However, Ci is around somewhere and I should go find him. Do stay safe, Cai."

"Is it hard to always be in touch with him?"

"Very much. But I take pride in my responsibility." She nodded, smiling encouragingly as he turned and made his way to a place more private. She mildly wondered about what Ci wanted. The old man would remain back at the town, as would the newest Riders. Some of the more experienced as well. Where the town resided could still be considered Wendigo land. It wouldn't do to have the town unprotected. Once he was out of sight, she turned to find something to do.

With no future plans set yet the soldiers had very little to do as well. Keep the camp safe. Keep in touch with the Shu town. Try to get in touch with Wu. Patrol the area. All of which had little to do with her at the moment. Ping might have been out with his father. He was known to not only idolize Guan Yu, but almost worship the God of War. But then Ping had been adopted by the giant of a man, and so it was understood most of the time. Cai tried not to judge or bring it up. But since Yu said he wanted to patrol, it was likely that Ping followed. That left her with little people to talk to anymore. Some men from Shu tolerated her, but she expected them to be busy.

With an almost silent huff, she turned and made her way through the camp. She didn't like inside the Wei estate. It was dark, and almost smothering. It was a place of power no doubt. It also didn't help that she couldn't bring herself to like most of the men of Wei. Which left her out in the cold with nothing to do. Not that she minded the cold. It wasn't cold. But listening to the men complain about it was rather annoying at points and time. Her lord was walking around, conversing with Ma Chao. A brave warrior, too self righteous for her own taste. Justice and honor were wonderful, but just like beauty not worth the long rants given. She quickly turned and avoided the two. Lord Liu Bei was prone to start conversations with her.

She almost felt bad for avoiding him or more so them. Shaking her bangs, letting her breath out, she stared up at the giant wall that kept out the enemies. She heard the shouts, and then saw the soldiers rushing around as the gates were opened. She quickly dashed around the area, swinging around the flag pole and dodging the men to see the patrol come in. She had no desire to ever sit upon the back of their giant and majestic mules, horses they called them, but the men were magnificent looking when they rode the beasts. Especially men like Guan Yu and Zhao Yun who just looked like dangerous men full of honor and pride.

"I just want you to be careful, son," Yu was saying as they rode in, stroking his silken beard. Ping was stiff, face red as he gave a brisk nod. "That is all that I ask. Make the right choices."

"I shall try, Father," Ping finally said, still not looking him in the eye. Cai watched them ride passed, stifling her hello. She withdrew her hand that she was going to use to give a gentle wave, holding it to her chest as she stared at their backs. Apparently it wasn't just a patrol ride. Zhao Yun came in shortly behind a few others, and she couldn't bring herself to call his attention either. Foolish girl, she thought to herself as she fell back into the crowd to disappear. He unintentiolially, she hoped it was unintentional, made her be girlish. She couldn't afford to be a little girl. She never learned how to be a child and how to deal with such trivial things, and in the midst of this war she had fallen into some sort of form of puppy love. Cai almost felt like crying. Except her Father was on his way, and she had to be strong.

_Shorter than what I normally write. Mostly characterization and an info dump. This was really hard to get out. Any criticizms and reviews are encouraged._


	16. Chapter 16

"Oh wowses! You mean you finally talked to Ce?" Xiao said, giddy as she sat in Da's tent trying to remember to whisper. Da tried not to roll her eyes, glancing at the candle instead. "That's so good Sis!"

"Why? It didn't mean anything. It doesn't mean I like him," Da hissed. "I just thought he should know."

"Still! Its good to know that your not totally stuck in your shell. There's a chance."

"A chance for what?"

"I don't know. I just think that you and Ce should… find closure. If not happiness."

"What?"

"Sorry." Da sighed, shoulders dropping. "I just am happy for you Da. I can't get Yu to even look at me anymore. It's like I got him cowed or something. I've been talking to Ce. And apparently Ce said something to him, to try to help, and I guess it backfired on him."

"Hmph," Da said, leaning back on her hands. "Doesn't surprise me with those men."

Xiao rolled her eyes. "Anyway. Apparently Yu is like totally scared of saying the wrong thing. Or something."

"Saying the wrong thing? Isn't he supposed to be the poetic, strategic genius?"

"Yeah. And then, its me he'd be talking to. Me!" Xiao pointed to herself. "I constantly end up putting my foot in my mouth. Or just saying something stupid. Especially in their language. As if I'd care if he said something wrong. Unlike you, I'm rather forgiving."

"Unlike me?"

"Yeah," Xiao said with a laugh. "I'm sorry Sis, but you're not forgiving. Maybe with me you are. But not with other people. Especially not people close to you. You hold a grudge, even if you act like you've forgiven them."

"How can you say that?"

"You still bring things up to me about things I've done from before we were with our wyrms! You look passed what happened, but you don't forgive and forget." Da stuttered, scrounging for the right words. "It's true."

"Fine," Da snapped, glaring at Xiao. Xiao fell back, laughing at her. "Quiet Xiao! You're going to wake up the whole camp!" Xiao tried to stop laughing. Da huffed, but smiled.

Zhu Rong carefully sat against the foot of Inferno, staring up through the trees at the sky. The black of the night seeping through the golds and the purples of the setting sun. It could have been seen as poetic, maybe philosophical. Somehow related to their situation and life. Or something. She didn't particularly care. She hadn't ever been called poetic. Or refined. Or anything else that would have related to the sky. She smirked then, stretching out her legs. Inferno growled, eyes snapping open. It was almost scary. His eyes reflected the eyes like the mountain lions back home. She turned to see who was coming to talk to her.

"You sleepin' next to 'im?" Zhang Fei said, glancing over at her.

"Course. He keeps me warmer than any ol' tent will."

He grunted, scratching at his neck. "When are you gonna split ways with us?"

"Why? Can't wait to get rid of me, drunkard?"

He glared at her. "Answer the question."

"If what the genius said is true, than I should be able to go to Wu soon. Course, if what he says is true, ya'll are gonna have to pick up the pace and get to Wei fast. They're gonna be in trouble."

"Shaddup. That ain't your concern. You're supposed to worry over Wu. Let us worry about Wei woman."

"I trust Zhuge Liang. He at least knows what he's doing. Or he sure acts like he does." She popped her neck some before propping up her arm on her knee. "Anyway. Ci is saying that Wu's already hit some turbulence along the way. So I should be gettin' on the way to them."

"Then go already." He growled at her.

"I've still got to protect the Powers you idiot. It ain't just the Sentinels duty, ya know. Ya'll ain't as special as ya'll think you are." She spat in his direction, glaring.

"Neither are you lizard riders, woman. Ya'll wouldn't be worth anymore than the dirt off my boots if it weren't for the wyrms."

"I could probably make you kiss your own ass," she hissed, sitting straighter. "But then, kissing ass probably ain't too knew for you, ain't it Sentinel?" He moved to attack, arms raised. But Inferno gave a deep growl, smoke bellowing from his jaw as he turned to Fei.

"Ain't nothing without the lizard," he said again, turning away. He wasn't allowed to show her a woman's place. Not so long as the strategist was holding him to his word, and that lizard was guarding her. But he planned too. She couldn't run around thinking she was one of the men. Women had to know their place. No matter if they had a giant flying lizard backing them up or not.

She leaned back against Inferno, crossing her arms over her large chest, glaring at his back until he disappeared. She wasn't happy that Inferno interfered. She knew she could take the drunkard. But it was for the better. Until the Wendigo issue was taken care of, she couldn't exactly be beating their own soldiers into a pulp. That just wouldn't help the situation at all. Hopefully the strategist would agree that she could leave them soon and go to Wu. At least she could beat up on Gan Ning.

Yue Ying sat inside her tent, legs crossed as she stared into the candle. She had to figure out what it was her husband was doing. He wouldn't just burn up the forest. He was still claimed by the earth. There was no reason for him to just randomly destroy a piece of it. So then what was his plan? With another mental groan she looked away from the flame, blinking her dry eyes.

How was it going to look on her when he entered the camp and she still didn't know his plan? She would have failed him at that point. He relied on her for these things. She was supposed to be able to work off of him! He had married her for her brains, not for much else at first. At this point she hoped more reasons had emerged, but the point of the fact was that he first loved her for her mind.

She rubbed her scalp for a moment, before pulling the red strands over her shoulder and braided them. It wouldn't do for her to drain herself with no sleep. That wouldn't help anything at all. She'd again think over it in the morning. Maybe even bring it up to the men and some of the other Riders. Though, she thought with her hands stilling, how would that look if they understood it before she did? With that awful thought, she tied the band and crawled under the blanket. As she blew out the candle, she heard the awful wail.

It didn't have the high shriek of a mountain lion. The roar sent vibrations through the air, shaking her passed her shivers. It wasn't the sound of any natural animal. It was the rarely heard wail of the Wendigo, she thought, reaching for her bow. The monsters were usually silent. If close enough, a warrior with trained ears could hear their breathing. Sometimes a shuffle of leaves as they walked through their forest. But their cry was rarely, if ever heard. They were silent predators.

She easily stopped the tears of fear as she stood, forgetting about covering up her night dress and entered the camp. Already it was alive with movement. All the men looked confused, scared even. They all turned to her for guidance. But she didn't stop. She had to reach their lord. He had to know. She ran, ignoring the biting cold. He was already awake; his best generals already by his side with their spears and halberds in hand. She didn't stop to be polite when addressing him. "The Wendigo are angry," she said, out of breath.

All of them had turned to her when she had entered, but now panic crossed their faces. "Will they attack?"

"They might. Cao Cao must be warned, and the camp must be ready. The monsters travel silently I'm sure you know. They can't fear the shadows either, your soldiers. They need to be calm, and ready for a strike."

"Understood. Brother Yu, please alert the campsite. Zhao Yun, get the message to Lord Cao Cao. We must have a meeting together." Both of the men nodded, bowed, and left the tent. She watched the flap of the tent fall back, turning back to him. "What is it that has angered the Scavenger Demons?" he asked, worried no doubt. He had too kind of a heart, she thought.

"I don't- Oh!" she said, smiling. "We are being used as bait," she said.

"Excuse me, Lady Yue Ying?"

"By destroying some of their land, specifically land they have claimed, the Wendigo will rightly assume it was us who did so. And so close to the land the monsters are, they will retaliate! Leaving Wu mostly in the clear to join us!"

"That makes sense…" he said, glancing from her, to away. She wasn't overly decent, and she knew it. But it wasn't the time.

"We have more soldiers, better defenses. It makes sense," she said quoting him with a smile. "I shall go prepare myself for the meeting." She turned on her heel and ran back to her tent, completely missing the sigh of relief from the lord. It wouldn't do for a lady to be running around like that. Not at all.

Xing Cai quietly made her way through the campsite, making sure to calm any soldiers she saw. It was the best she could do, really. Explain the situation to them, keep them from falling into a fit of hysteria. She had only ever heard the wail once before. From a captured Wendigo during her first Round. They had captured one to help train the fledglings in the group. The girls had to watch it for the first part of the season, since Rounds lasted a whole season, to learn about the monsters. Up close, it had been even worse. She was glad it was so far away. And that she had a better, stronger link to Hope at this time.

Zhang He was coming out of the Wei castle, bundled up with his hair braided down his back. He waved to her, before continuing on. Probably to look for Yue Ying. She nodded in his direction, stopping only once to see the Lord of Wei walking out with his son and Zhen Ji behind him. They followed as well, towards the tent. Cao Cao didn't look to happy. It was obvious why. Why did he have to leave the warmth of the castle to have this talk? She couldn't say she agreed with it, Xing Cai knew.

If they were outside with the soldiers, it would help the men. The one who were actually going to fight. It gave them more support. This was the best reason she could think of. The people of Wei disappeared into the camp, towards the largest tent no doubt. She didn't hide her distaste for them, until she heard the sounds of the soldiers up on the walls. With a sigh, she found a way up to check on them.

Lu Bu watched as the beasts all wailed. The sounds no doubt alerting those at the Wei castle. It was slowly getting to him. He was going to snap. And the only ones who seemed to notice were _his _people. Diao Chan, was in the back, in their room. She didn't like the Scavenger Demons. He didn't particularly blame her. She only came out at crucial times. Gou Jia stood behind his chair, covering his ears with a scowl. Zhang Liao should have been returning from his scouting soon.

They were the only ones who had followed him into the exile. After loosing to Cao Cao, the man taking everything from him that he had earned. These three followed after him. Something Lu Bu would admit to himself touched him. He had not expected anybody to be loyal to him. Not since he wasn't the most loyal of men. It was Diao Chan who had explained it to him, one night before the Scavenger Demons had found them.

"We understand you, my lord," she had said with that tender smile of hers. "You are not a man to follow. You are a leader. A man capable of anything. Men like Dong Zhou and Yuan Shao are not fit to lead such a man as you. The fact that you knew that is why you rebelled against them. And we understand that. It is why we still follow you. You are strong, and while your morals are not the same as the average man, that is fine. Because you are no average man, and you follow your code. Your morals. That is why we follow you. Why I love you," she had said, laying a small hand on his arm. Of course, there was nothing to say to that, so he had remained silent. But she didn't seem to mind. She never did.

Then the Scavenger Demons came. They tried to eat them. Take them. Lu Bu had none of that. It was one of his harder battles, and Zhang Liao really did help. It was a little hard to admit, but Zhang Liao did save him on a few accounts. Then they stopped attacking, and the devilish things started following him. Something about strength and power. For some reason he became their God for it. Lu Bu didn't try to understand their minds. He didn't care about their thought process. It really wasn't worth it. But they could be used. He could take back what he wanted with them. With his men behind him, and the Scavenger Demons ahead, everything would work out just fine.

"Sire," Gou Jia said, trying to whisper over the wails. "Should you not do something to calm them? We must use this anger, this sadness to help us. We need them to follow you. Not do something brash since you won't take charge," he said.

Lu Bu sighed, rubbing the back of his neck before he stood. The Scavenger Demons slowly silenced, turning to look at him with their wide eyes. He glanced over them all, scowling. They waited, almost in awe. "The humans have taken something from you. The humans are over stepping their bounds and are preparing to destroy you. But do not fear. Revenge shall be bountiful by the end of this winter. With me here, we shall not loose!" he said, and the Scavenger Demons all stared up at him, slowly the cracked smiles grew showing their sharp yellow teeth. They didn't cheer. The fact that they were silent told him that they agreed, and that they would follow. That was enough.

_I bet you all forgot about Lu Bu being in this! I also remembered that I haven't worked too much Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao into it, and was like "I really should at least mention it..." so yeah. And I actually have a friend who goes "wowses" so yeah. This story is actual full of experimentation ya know. I'm using a lot of characters I wouldn't normally use. So tell me what you think of them please. Zhang Fei, Yue Ying, Lu Bu is sometimes hard to understand, Zhang He, all of them are a little off for me. But I'm trying with it._

_Also, in my LJ there is a peice I've written from here. Sort of a What if Da hadn't calmed down during the horse back trek? And theres some SW that I'd like people to read. Not sure if I like them (the characterization) and all. So yeah, ya'll can be sweet, leave a review and then go comment on them! _


	17. Chapter 17

Gan Ning leaned against Conqueror, staring into the sky. It was his usual past time, but he had reason now. Beauty was supposed to be on her way towards the camp. Da Qiao was keeping in close contact with her, in case the Wendigo made a move. Himself and Xiao Qiao were waiting to mount up. Gan Ning's head swung, turning to face the wind. Xiao Qiao, standing in the shade of Grace, stepped back, further into the protection of her wyrm. She had never felt comfortable with the all knowing Zou Ci.

"Hello," Gan Ning said, rolling his head to the side to glare at the illusion.

"Lady Zhu Rong is said to be on her way to you," he said with a bow. "You should also have a much safer passage here on out. Power Master Zhuge Liang has laid out some plans to help you along the way. As soon as Lady Zhu Rong appears, you will have an almost assured passage to the lands of Wei."

"Great. Thanks," Gan Ning said, fixing his gloves. "We are going to be here until Beauty arrives. After that, whatever Sun Jian decides."

"I shall be sure to inform the Home Rider. Be at your best, Gan Ning. She has not been happy lately."

Gan Ning scoffed. "Whatever." Zou Ci nodded with a smile, and with a gust of wind was gone. Gan Ning glanced from his gloves to Xiao Qiao, who was again stepping out from behind Grace's leg.

"That's why I don't ever want to be Captain," she whispered. "I don't like people in my mind."

"It takes a while to get used to," he said with a shrug.

"It's not even like a normal link is it? He is _in _your mind!" She shivered. "That's not right."

"After Beauty arrives, you go tell Da that Zhu Rong is coming. I'll tell the Lords."

"Okay," she said with a sigh, leaning a little more heavily on Grace. They didn't have to wait much longer, Grace and Conqueror alerting them of her coming. The red speck spiraled as it floated to the ground, landing in a cloud of dust. The horses went crazy, the men sent to watch them jumping to action with curses. Da Qiao came running out; hugging Beauty's lowered head with a smile.

"How I missed you," Da Qiao whispered, and Beauty gave a low growl, almost like a purr.

"Sis," Xiao Qiao said, skipping over to her. "The Home Rider is to be arriving soon. Zou Ci came to tell Gan Ning."

The older Qiao straightened, releasing her wyrms head and nodded. "Very well then. Gan Ning is then alerting Lord Sun Jian?"

"Yep yep!" Xiao Qiao smiled, and glanced through Beauty's legs to see Sun Ce and Zhou Yu walking their way, staring up at the red wyrm with wide eyes. She decided it would be better not to warn her sister. Da Qiao might have tried to run. "Do you think we're going to leave soon?" she asked instead.

"I am not sure. If we move, we might reach Lady Zhu Rong faster, but she might pass us as well since she is not coming from Wei." The older one shrugged with a small sigh.

"Oh. Hi Sun Ce! Hi Zhou Yu!" she waved vigorously at both of them. Da Qiao jumped, swinging around to see them both standing behind her. Mostly looking up at the wyrms, they waved a response. Da Qiao bowed a little stiffly, giving a quick glare to her little sister.

"Glad to see Beauty," Sun Ce said, smiling upwards at the beast.

"Yes. We are fortunate to have her returned," Zhou Yu said with an almost sagely nod. "We were able to see Gan Ning making his way towards our Lord Sun Jian's tent on the way here. What is the news?"

"Our Home Rider shall shortly be arriving soon," Da Qiao said, pushing a few stray strands of hair back.

"Your Home Rider. She is the boss?"

"Of our… guild?" Da Qiao said, floundering for the right word.

"Sure. Go with that," Xiao Qiao said with a giggle and a shrug. Da Qiao turned back to give her another glare.

"But she is lower ranked than your Powers, correct?"

"That is right. She has pull in decisions, but their word is law." Zhou Yu nodded again.

"She is arriving soon?" Sun Ce asked, glancing up to the sky.

"Not today I think. The way Zou Ci was talking," Xiao Qiao said, grinning ear to ear. "But soon."

"Is she like you two?"

"Not at all," they said in unison. Both men stepped back a little, glancing between them.

"She's a tough lady," Xiao Qiao said. "She brawls with the Sentinels a lot, I think. She's one of the few Wyrm Riders who is able to fight on the ground. And she doesn't usually use bows either, does she?" She glanced to Da Qiao.

"She is good with bows. But she is also good with magic, and often is seen riding with her bone boomerang."

"Yep. She's the strongest rider," Xiao Qiao said with a giggle. "Though some people are saying that Gan Ning is going to take over soon. Both of their wyrms have dragon blood."

"Inferno's is thicker," Da Qiao said. "It also helps that he has Red Dragon blood."

"Yea," the younger one said with a nod.

"Really?" Sun Ce said, nodding. "That is quite fascinating."

"Quite," Zhou Yu said, one eyebrow raised at the girls.

Xiao Qiao giggled behind a hand. "Sorry. It is hard sometimes to know how much you will understand."

"I think we basically understood that conversation."

"Until they started slipping into their tongue for a few words," Zhou Yu said, waving his hand a little.

"Oops," the little one blushed, smiling.

"It wasn't just you," Da Qiao said, with a nod. "I am guilty as well. I can speak quicker in our common tongue." She shrugged, avoiding looking straight at the two. What was Zhu Rong going to say when she saw her like this? Bumbling over a man. Zhu Rong was observant. She didn't always seem it, but she was. She wouldn't have survived long if she hadn't been. Da Qiao gave a quiet sigh, dreading the coming Home Rider almost as much as Gan Ning had to of been.

Xiao Qiao laughed, holding onto her arm now. "But I was worse!"

"If you must out do me then fine, you were worse." Xiao Qiao giggled, gently tugging on the arm.

"What is it you lords were looking for, if I may ask," Da Qiao said finally, glancing over both of them. "I somewhat doubt you just wanted to see Beauty."

"It was the main reason," Sun Ce said with a shrug and a grin. Always a grin. "But we were also wondering if you two would help us with the soldiers. Gan Ning helps Father and the Generals. But the soldiers get the second hand information. You two know a lot about the Scavenger Demons, and we thought it would be beneficial to the men."

The two sisters glanced at each other, Xiao Qiao looked shocked. What were they doing asking her to teach anybody anything? Laughing again, she nodded. "Alright! C'mon Sis!" She pulled on her hand.

"I suppose it would be for the best," Da Qiao said, following after Xiao Qiao with the smallest of frowns. The two men followed her, gently chatting behind them. Plotting, Da Qiao thought with narrowed eyes. No doubt plotting something. Men only whispered when they were plotting. She didn't look back over her shoulder. Refused to. All the soldiers stood when they saw them coming, a few elbowing their friends to stand as well. Both girls seriously hoped it was because Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were behind them.

"Alright boys," Sun Ce said over them, raising a hand in the air to make sure he had their attention. "These two lovely ladies are willing to give you a lesson on the Scavenger Demons. I assure you, they are here willingly and are not going to try and humiliate you. So take advantage of this opportunity and learn something useful!" The men all nodded, a few yelling a 'yes sir'. Sun Ce then fell back, giving the stage to them.

"It still amazes me how enthusiastic soldiers are to listen to your orders," Zhou Yu said, a thumb in his belt.

"Course you would be. You question them half the time."

"They usually don't sound like they would work."

"They always work." Zhou Yu scoffed, rolling his eyes before watching Xiao Qiao talk. She used her hands a lot, as well as smiled. Nor did she seem to breathe that much. He smiled. They were talking about fire at the moment, which seemed to be one of the few things the Scavenger Demons really hated. Might even have been scared of. A good fact to know, though they had all already been informed.

He didn't want to admit it, but he had always been a little jealous of Sun Ce's natural charm. He more often then not had to earn people's friendships and trust to a certain degree. But people just liked Sun Ce. And not just because he was the heir to the Wu throne. More than once him and Sun Ce had gone into town pretending to be other people. They didn't treat Sun Ce much differently than before. And now he was getting his girl long before Zhou Yu. It just wasn't fair, for a lack of better words.

Xiao Qiao glanced his way, and he quickly looked towards the soldiers, keeping his face impassive and cool, fighting the blush. Sun Ce next to him chuckled, almost stopping the smile on his face. Almost. Zhou Yu slowly let his eyes drift back to her. She was everything he wasn't. This was probably why he was so attracted to her. She was always happy, wearing her bleeding heart on her sleeve. She was so soft, and so easily amused. She had gone into the garden everyday they still were at the Wu Estate. But she had found something new, something new and wonderful every time she had gone in. And her songs were beautiful. Even though he couldn't understand them, he loved to listen to them. Before the link had been broken, she had let him listen to some of the songs.

She was a klutz. She didn't have her sister's natural grace and poise. But that was the only thing that was true about his first impression of her. She wasn't a ditz. She wasn't stupid. She understood so much more than she really let on. She loved people, and she (just like Sun Ce) endeared them towards her. Taishi Ci had talked about her after their little brawl. He had liked her, he had said. She was fun and cute even. Though he had admitted she had no skill in hand to hand combat either. The only two who he had heard bad mouth her specifically was Ling Tong and Sun Quan.

"You're staring again," Sun Ce said, smirking. Though, his eyes were trained on Da Qiao. But that was a given. Sun Ce wasn't embarrassed to say he was chasing her. He wasn't afraid to make it blatantly obvious. Sun Ce wasn't known for being subtle. Zhou Yu gave a sigh, and followed Sun Ce when he sat down. The conversations slowly went from Scavenger Demons to the girls. Xiao Qiao showing off some of her magic, Da Qiao quietly watching for any sign of trouble in the flow of the flames.

It was then that Sun Ce stiffened, staring at the flame. Zhou Yu, beside him, glanced warily at him. More than once he had seen him in such a state. He was coming up with a plan. One that usually was costly and sounded stupid. Which still usually worked. Which was horrible. He was the strategist, yet Sun Ce always had a somewhat stable plan to get to the end he wanted. He just needed Zhou Yu to round out the edges in these little get-goes. With a withering sigh, he gave a quick nod with Sun Ce looked to him with a lop sided grin. Wonderful, Zhou Yu thought.

_This one feels a little bit rushed to me. But it actually does develop the plot, so I suppose it's better than some other chapters huh? Zhu Rong shall arrive soon. Hopefully I can make that fun. Otherwise, nothing really is new or not. It's a pretty straightforward chapter. Oh, and- Yay for Zhou Yu! I remembered him! _


	18. Chapter 18

"I think I'm just going to pretend your joking and retire to my tent," Zhou Yu said finally, but made no move to stand.

"You've had to think of it too! C'mon. You're supposed to be the smarter one here, Yu!"

"Which is why this would never have crossed my mind."

"But doesn't it make sense at least?"

"… Yes. It does," Yu finally conceded, dropping his head into his hands. "Why do you always want to do the crazy things? Why couldn't you be normal?"

Sun Ce gave a one shoulder shrug and grunt. "Would you really have been happy with that?"

"Probably not." Zhou Yu glanced up at him, still frowning. "We wouldn't even have anybody to teach us. None of _them_ will."

"We're smart people."

"This is entirely new territory, you dunce. There is nothing to teach from!"

"I've always been pretty good at trial and error myself."

"There has to be more to this then what you're telling me." His eyes narrowed, straightening.

"There is. You'll think of it too no doubt. But it's more a desire then an actual probability in the future." Sun Ce shrugged again. "I might be able to get Xiao to teach us a little. It'd take some fancy wording though."

"Yes of course. _You_ talk to her." Zhou Yu realized he was being immature at that point, but didn't particularly care.

"Hey! She's the one who's reaching it. It's not my fault your to pansy to grab her hand."

"I just… It's just that…"

"You're a pansy."

"I am not afraid to hit you."

"That's great. Just know I hit harder." Zhou Yu glared at him, and Sun Ce responded with a smile. "Come on man! Xiao's cute and all, but she doesn't hold my interest. It has something to do with the old link, but she's no different from when we first met. She's cute, kind of like a baby sister. But Da holds more appeal for me. And you know it. Especially anymore. It's like I almost get her, and then she does something else. It's… tantalizing almost."

"But why is it so easy for you," Zhou Yu said finally.

"Easy? Do I really appear that at ease with it all?" Sun Ce grinned. "Sometimes I think she catches on. I'm glad."

"You mean?"

"I've just, accepted that if I let my fear win then I'll definitely loose. Just like a battle. I might be scared, but letting it paralyze me means certain loss. And, just like anything, I'm never prepared to loose." Sun Ce laughed. "Unlike you. You're trained to think of every possibility and how to respond. And that makes you careful. You can't just say 'Fine! I'm just going to go up to her and talk! And then force her to see that nothing has changed from before.' You're trained not to act like that. It takes dire situations for you to act on impulse. You've yet to feel that your relationship with her is in a dire spot."

"How long have you been analyzing me?"

He gave a third shrug. "You're funny to watch. Its not often I get to see you be awkward. Would you miss the chance to watch me flounder?"

"No."

"Exactly. But you'd want to know the reason for it too. We aren't as different as people assume. You've told me that before."

"So I have," Zhou Yu said, laughing. "Sometimes I like to forget that you are smart, Ce."

"That's an insult."

"I'm glad you noticed." Sun Ce glowered at him, but couldn't resist laughing as well. "I'm going to try now to… be a little more natural around Xiao. And maybe… if you could get her to teach us a little then I'll have a better chance."

"Tch. Why do you get the easy girl? Mine refuses to look at me half the time."

"I have skills," Zhou Yu said, smirking back at him.

"Don't be stealing my lines."

Sun Ce made sure to catch Xiao Qiao alone. It wasn't hard. Gan Ning tended to try and ignore him with all his power. And Da Qiao just ran. She avoided him. It hurt. But at that time, getting the younger Qiao alone was more important than trying to fix that problem. Xiao Qiao was busy petting Grace, secretly giving her a check up. "She doesn't like it really when I give her a medic look. But she needs them sometimes ya know? Like her wings. You've always got to be real careful and pay attention to wings. And teeth. If they're mouths hurt they aren't the nicest of animals."

"I'll keep that in mind. Because I'm really planning on taking one in as a pet ya know. With our hunting hounds and all." She giggled at him. "But I do have a serious question for you."

"Oh, serious-ness! I'll try." She turned to face him, grinning.

"Good," he said with a chuckle. "My and Yu were thinking lately, and after a discussion with your sister, I kind upon a surprise I'd like you to clarify for me."

"Why not ask Da?"

"Because I'm not sure she'd give me a truthful answer to this." Xiao Qiao suddenly got serious, loosing the smile as she stared up at him. "Could me and Yu use magic since you two created the link with us? Or is it only when a wyrm does?"

"Oh," Xiao Qiao mumbled, and fell back against Grace's leg. "I… um. Its not been done yet. Da would have answer no doubt. But she'd be suspicious if I asked. Um, well… I really have no idea."

Sun Ce chuckled. "I didn't think it was a common thing. But, could you help us find out?"

"What? Like, try and teach you guys something?"

"Yeah. We want to know."

"But… if I do… and you do, you can't use it in front of _anybody_ not us or Gan Ning. Because they all would get really really upset and it could cause problems, and-"

"Alright Xiao. We won't use it in front of anybody, so long as it's not saving lives yeah? Does that work? Cause I can't promise I'll sit still if I could save lives."

"Okay. I guess it's… that's good. I just don't want Da to get in trouble. I mean, I've gotten in trouble before. Nothing of this… big. But still. Da stresses so bad about these things. So we can't tell her either. She'd stress so bad about it being found out. She already is."

"We'll keep it mum," Sun Ce laughed. "We have no reason to want you two to be thrown to the pit. Where do you want to teach us?"

"Here is best. Without Da, I'm really wild with my magic. She got the precisions and control. I got the power. She can keep me tamed usually. It's why we still partner. But, she can't be here. So Grace is going to watch me. She should be able to help a little."

"Alright. What time?"

"Ah… probably later. I don't think I could teach right now."

"That's fine. We'll come by when it gets a little darker. Thanks Xiao!" He waved as he turned to leave, jogging back into camp. She gave a gusty sigh, not sure what exactly she'd done dug herself into. She then mildly wondered if there was a way to get Gan Ning's help out of all of it. Without him getting upset. Except, Zhu Rong was coming soon. And they couldn't do this teaching stuff with her around. With a groan, she craned her head up to Grace.

"I really should of thought up all the problems before I agreed, huh?" Grace purred. "Well, better go corner Gan Ning and see what I can get out of him. Bye Grace! Be a good girl!" She dashed over towards the camp, not really sure where Gan Ning was.

She couldn't help but hide behind Grace, waiting for them to show up. Gan Ning had nothing to say on it. Though he had been sweet enough to promise not to tell. She hid her face in her knees, slightly hoping they just couldn't make it. How was she supposed to teach them anything? She wasn't a teaching person. She wasn't good at it. Phooey on Da, she thought with a huff.

"Hey Xiao! Sorry it's a little later then I had thought," Sun Ce said, walking carefully around Grace, Zhou Yu a step behind him. "Got a little caught up in the camp."

"No complaints here," she said with a forced laugh.

"Are you sure you are alright with this, Lady Xiao?" Zhou Yu said, kneeling to look at her. She leaned back, opening and closing her mouth for a polite response that wasn't a lie. "If you are not, we can leave. Do not force yourself."

"What? No… It's… I gotta somehow teach you the basics before the Home Rider lands."

"She'd notice and not approve," Sun Ce said, scratching his head.

"Yeah. And I'm not a good teacher. But I… I will try." She shrugged. "So, bear with it, yes?"

"Sure thing." Sun Ce sat down, a little farther from the two, and listened. Zhou Yu and put some distance between himself and Xiao Qiao, being polite and all.

"Oh, well, alright. Here goes." She reached around for her bow. "I have always found it easy to have a…item that the magic can channel through. I also find it easy to have fire already made for me to work with."

"So you light it on fire?" Sun Ce said, trying to remember her the night the Scavenger Demons attacked.

"Yeah. If I light it just from will, it usually just explodes on me," she mumbled. "See, I'll show you how I light it." She stood up, still hidden by a lying Grace and positioned her feet. She pulled out an arrow, and she quickly positioned it, dragging it over the metal on the bow. The spark caught and the arrow was set ablaze. "Metal on metal. I catch the spark and with my magic it lights. Then I can control the fire on my arrow."

"Ah," Sun Ce said with a grin, replaying again what he saw that night.

She quickly snuffed the flame with her mind, lowering her arrow and bow. "Candles work too. That's what we started with. Da has to use fire like that. She has problems starting a spark. Or making flames much bigger with her magic. But she can control the flame."

"Is fire the only magic we can use?"

She shrugged, sitting back down. "We've never tried. Fire is the Wendigo enemy. We learn to prefect that element. Because fire lashes out, and doesn't like to be controlled. When confined, it tries to die. So it is hard a little sometimes, mostly. And we don't got lots of water to play with up at home. And wind is harder cause you can't see it to control it. So you don't know what you're doing. And earth… we live on a mountain. It'd be bad to mess with the earth wrong and cause the whole town to fall and crumble. Not to mention that the earth sides with the Wendigo. It is not our ally. Maybe yours though. You are also ground beings." She gave another shrug.

"Alright, so how do we do it? Get a flame ready before we even try, but how do we control?" Sun Ce asked when Zhou Yu remained silent, watching her. Moron, he thought, leaning forward.

"Um, that's the hard part you see. It is that I am not sure what I really do. But when I do it, it sort of feels like the link. It's calming, and warm. Though, sometimes, after I continue to use it, I start to feel really cold and tired. Like when I almost fell asleep when I was lost on the mountain. It was scary, but I was just falling to sleep. My teacher says it's because it can drain you. And we no longer have lots of magic to pull off of. So when our Wyrm isn't supplying it, we run out quickly." She licked her lips, and glanced up at Grace. "So I worry a little bit about you two. Don't over do it! I've learned my limit. We all do under a watchful eye. But I can't really be yours."

"Do not worry. I shall keep tabs on Ce," Zhou Yu said with a smirk, and she smiled at that.

"Because I'm reckless."

"Yes." Sun Ce glared at him, be leaned back again. "So, your saying we should try and pull again on the link though, Lady Xiao?"  
"I guess. Without a link there, you might just pull on magic. I had trial and error. Half the time when I started, I just pulled on Grace instead of magic. She was always getting so annoyed with me." She giggled, hugging her knees closer to her. "So, without a link, you should be okay in pulling magic. Just don't over do it!"

"We got the warning," Sun Ce mumbled. "It's late, so we'll be going before people realize we're gone."

"That would be wise," Zhou Yu said, still not looking away from her. Realizing it, he jumped up and glanced at Sun Ce. "We shall practice a little, and once we can do something we shall confront you again with our new talent. How does that sound, Lady Xiao?"

"Yea, sure. Sounds like a plan," she mumbled into her knee, nodding her head. "Good night!" she called after them.

"Good night, my lady," Zhou Yu said, and Sun Ce waved before swatting him over the head with 'what was _that_?' and a shake of his own head. She giggled, knowing she should have been going as well. While Grace was warm and comfy, it wasn't safe if the Wendigo came again.

The whole camp awoke before the sun had risen over the mountain range to the roars of the wyrms. Everybody rushed from their tents to see the brownish wyrm circling down, landing in a cloud of dirt. In awed silence, they all waited. Save for the riders, who carefully made their way to the front of the circle. The giant wyrm, bigger than the others, had its head to the sky, giving a roar that shook the trees. The woman on its back easily hopped down, using the loops and chains on the saddle to swing around and flip to the ground.

Throwing her platinum blonde hair over her shoulder, she scanned the crowd with a haughty disposition. Her skin darker than anything they had seen before, and she was as tall as the men. A hand went to her hip, taking in the three bowing before her."Well, ain't ya gonna introduce me?" she said with a smirk.

_Zhu Rong makes her (showy) enterance. Who wants to place bets that she has practiced with Inferno on how to do that just for occasions like these? That said, I actually kind of like this chapter. Nothing big actually happens, but it shows more on Sun Ce. Any guesses on what he wants to do with his magic (besides show up Lu Xun by making his own flame of course? Because we know that would piss of the pyro.) Reviews welcome!_


	19. Chapter 19

Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao sat next to each other, off to the side as Zhu Rong waited to talk to Sun Jian, trying not to laugh very loud. All the men had gathered to see her, and most stayed in awe and shock. Of course, trying to turn away and be polite. She was, to put it plainly, stripping of her clothes. "Why is it so damn hot?" the Home Rider mumbled, throwing her two jackets and one long wool shirt into the bags hanging on Inferno.

"Wonder what they'd do if she went for the pants?" Xiao Qiao mumbled with a giggle.

"Ah, ma'am," Sun Ce said, stepping forward with a glare towards his men. "It really isn't appropriate-"

"You're gonna tell me what's appropriate?" she said, whipping around to glare him down. His mouth snapped shut, leaning back to stare at her. In the simple undershirt her tanned skin was much more prominent, as were the tattoos the snaked from her collar bones down into the cleavage. "Well Goat Face? What's appropriate?" she asked.

"Goat…" The men snickered behind him.

"Let me tell you something, Mr. Goat Face. I have lived most of my life at an altitude you'd probably suffocate in, and flown at speeds that would make you soil your loins. I come from the High North. If it ain't at least snowing, I'm not gonna be comfortable. I'm probably gonna be sweating like a pig. So lets leave it to the fact that I'm not gonna cover up, and you can continue to blush like a virgin. So, shut up." She stared down at him for a moment, Sun Ce stunned to silenced, and then turned to stare at the crowd. "Now where is that old man?"

"My apologies, Mistress Home Rider," Sun Jian said, walking out with Gan Ning who had gone to retrieve him. "I couldn't help but wait for you to finish lecturing my son."

"Goat Face is your son?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Yes."

"I see the resemblance. He's a goat, and you're trying to grow birds nest," she mumbled. Sun Jian laughed at that, scratching at the stubble growing.

"My apologies. I don't see much of a reason to shave as much out here on the way to war."

"No, I suppose there ain't much," she said with a shrug. "Anyway, here is the deal, Lord of the West. I know Wendigo better than most. Especially better than the green horns you've got here," she said, jerking her chin at the girls and Gan Ning.

"That is understandable."

"I am the best the Powers can provide. As such, you will listen to me. I cannot promise some of ya won't die on the trek up. I can't promise there won't be injuries. But I will promise that I can reduce casualties. But ya'll gotta listen to me. And that means jump when I tell ya. Find cover when I say duck. And when I'm with Inferno, keep your heads low." She looked over all the men there, eyes settling on Sun Jian. "Do we agree to this? If not, I leave it all to you _men_. I might be nice enough to tell you if I see tracks the of the freaks."

"I've already relied heavily on Gan Ning. It makes sense to give more power to the more experienced." He bowed his head at her.

"Good. I like smart men, and I'd rather see Wu make it to Wei with enough people to be considered an army."

"Anything else?"

"No. I just wanted to make sure everybody knew where I stood on this social ladder. All else I will retrieve from my people. Thank you." She bowed her head in return, and then turned to face the Riders.

"Damn bitch hasn't changed," Gan Ning mumbled, rubbing his neck.

"You mean she constantly like this?" Ling Tong said in shock, a little bit of fear, and some repulsion.

"Yeah." They both stiffened, turning to see each other. Ling Tong realizing what he did, glared at him with the most hate he could conjure and stomped off towards Taishi Ci.

Xiao Qiao giggled, clapping her hands. "He's so funny!"

"I'm only glad he didn't remain to try and talk to Zhu Rong. That would have turned ugly quick," Da Qiao mumbled.

"I'd liked to see her wipe the floor with his ass," Gan Ning said, before turning to Zhu Rong with a smile. "Home Rider."

"Gan Ning. Da Qiao. Xiao Qiao." She greeted each of them with a nod of her head. "Updates?"

"The men of Wu seem to have some very capable men for the field. I'm not entirely sure how they'd do against a Wendigo, but they survived the one attack, and the few run ins we've had."

"Good. I expected no less. Sometime later, when they've rested more, I'd like to see them on the field. I'll also need a conference with their strategist. Me and him need to get acquainted. In the air, it would take no time to get to Wei. However, on foot we will no doubt run into trouble. Wei and Shu are currently taking the brunt of the Wendigo attack. That does not mean there aren't more out, still waiting for us."

"Understood," they trio said together, Gan Ning trying not to look bored and failing.

"Good. And, nothing else?" She eyed all three. Da Qiao forced herself to remain impassive, shaking her head no. Xiao Qiao gave a full hearted 'nope' and Gan Ning just stared at her. "Then I am going to go make my tent." She spun around on her heel and stomped off. While she would have preferred to of stayed with Inferno, it was far to warm. She wouldn't be able to handle it really. Da Qiao let out a deep breath, letting her shoulders drop with relief. She missed the guilty look Xiao Qiao hid by glancing up at Gan Ning, who chuckled at both of them and walked off to a tree to lounge against.

"So, Sis," Xiao Qiao said slowly, turning back to face her. "Zhu Rong will probably be asleep as soon as she's done yelling at Gan Ning for not getting her the strategist and then talks to Zhou Yu. What do you plan to do?"

"Ah, I don't know," Da Qiao said truthfully, smiling. Xiao Qiao smiled, trying to plot out a way to get her stuck with Sun Ce for at least a little bit. She needed to stop running away from him like he was some big bad horrible monster of doom. Xiao Qiao couldn't fathom what was so scary about him. It was one thing when they thought they were angry with them, but they obviously weren't. Da Qiao had to notice that. She wasn't stupid in the least. Or Xiao Qiao thought.

"That's boring," Xiao Qiao whined, falling back with a thud to stare at the clouds.

"We are in a camp site Xiao. It is not as if there is a lot to do."

"We can't even just walk anymore," the younger one huffed, covering her eyes with her arm. "It's not safe," she mocked.

"You had fun with Taishi Ci did you not? Why not go see if you can train a little more with somebody."

"Come with me?" Xiao Qiao said, peeking.

"I could use the practice for my arrow. I'll need to stop by my tent." Da Qiao stood up, dusting off her pants and giving a hand to Xiao Qiao, who gave a cheer and skipped ahead.

Xing Cai was jostled as Hope landed, giving out puffs of breath and trying to fight to keep her eyes open. She unhooked her legs from the saddle, swinging her leg over to climb down. She missed a link and landed with a thud in the snow, biting back a scream. Hope's head swung around to stare at her, gently pushing against her with her nose. Xing Cai hushed her, a hand going to her side and moaning. Her coat was sticky with her blood, she noticed. She tried to get her legs under her, using Hope's nose for support. "Let me get patched up, Hope. Then I'll come clean you and remove the saddle alright?" The warm sensation sent through her mind down through her body was her answer. For a moment, she couldn't feel the pain, and she closed her eyes with a smile.

Releasing Hope, feeling the pain again shoot through her, she staggered a moment, but continued onwards to the camp. Over the ringing in her own ears she could still hear the sound of the battle raging. The Wendigo were not letting up. The citizens had already been sent elsewhere, in a panicked frenzy they had run. While the soldiers tried to keep the Wendigo out of the grounds, they had flown and destroyed the hordes of monsters. It had worked at first. But the Wendigo had adapted, slowly starting to use weapons against them. Flinging rocks and even spears. She couldn't help but worry about the new Wendigo King. He was turning them into truly fearsome monsters.

Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees with a flinch. She glanced up to see the light of the camp and castle. It would have been easier had they been allowed to land closer to the actual grounds. Giving out a long groan, she tightened her hold on her wound and fought hard to stand. "Xing Cai!" a voice said, that sound somewhat familiar. She forced herself to turn and look, seeing so many faces. Three started to rush to her, she later learned it was Zhao Yun, her father, and Ma Chao who had gone to meet the Powers. Zhao Yun slid to his knees next to her, instantly checking where her hands were at the wound. He quickly hoisted her up in his arms, letting her head fall against his shoulder.

"Xing Cai!" the stout man came up next to him, reaching for her face. "Xing Cai, talk to me!" he said, voice filling with some panic.

"I must get her to the medic," Zhao Yun said, running off into the camp.

"Aye!" the man said, reaching after him, before fisting his hand and letting it fall back to his side.

"It seems," Zhuge Liang said, coming next to him, "that Xing Cai has at least made allies."

"Course," Zhang Fei said, sniffing as he glared in the direction of the camp. "Who wouldn't like my little girl."

"True. She's nothing like you," a second Power said walking up to them; his nose raised so as he could look down on all of them.

"Zhang Jiao, please," Zhuge Liang said, fanning himself gently. "Let us continue on. I would very much like to meet Wei and Shu." He turned to Ma Chao, who had been watching them all with narrowed eyes.

"Of course," he said finally, bowing and leading the way. None of them seemed particularly dangerous, nothing more than the usual evil beings that came from the mountains. However, those were always the scariest of evils, he thought with a glare.

Diao Chan sat inside the yurt, carefully strumming her instrument. Zhang Liao, when he would go into town, always brought her back something. She did not leave the yurt very often and usually only with Lu Bu. It wasn't that she didn't feel safe with Zhang Liao, he was a mighty warrior, it was just that she felt alright if she was to die beside Lu Bu. She glanced up to see the huge forms walking around outside of her yurt. They never went inside. Never even touched the yurt. But it bothered her to no end when she would catch sight of their shadows.

She wasn't sure she approved of what it was Lu Bu was doing. She had never been one for blood shed. And yet, she thought with a fanciful smile, she had fallen in love with the bloodiest of them all. She strummed again the cords, and the Scavenger Demon outside stopped for the briefest moment, and then continued on. She tried to ignore them. They seemed to be loyal to Lu Bu. Zhang Liao, only him and Lu Bu were allowed entrance into the yurt, had said they found him to be their God of some sort. It made sense to find him a God. He was nothing like an average man. Nothing like any man she had ever known. Zhang Liao of course came close. He was the second best, she thought with a smile.

She jumped, falling back when she saw the shadow at the doorway. She calmed when she finally looked at it however. It was not the hunched, ugly form of a Scavenger Demon. It was a human. And by the size, her Lu Bu. He entered without slowing, some snow being dragged in with him. He sat down with grace that didn't ever seem to fit his large form. She set her instrument to the side, and moved to sit beside him. She usually had to go to him. This was the closest he came usually to coming to her for support or care. He had never been taught about his emotions. Or how to display them. It had taken her time to understand that. To understand him. He had never been allowed weakness, and had been taught that displaying any was the worst thing a man could do. She had felt that her heart would explode when he decided to keep her when they were running from Cao Cao. She was a hindrance, but he kept her. She was no fool. She was his weakness. But she tried so hard not to be. Not to slow him down, or to make herself an easy target. She had only ever wanted to help him.

He watched her move, staring at her when she sat down. "We are making good progress," he bit out finally.

"You are still not allowed on the battlefield, my lord?" she asked with a smile at his agitated state.

"They say it is better if they don't know who it is ruling the Scavengers. Neither myself or Zhang Liao are allowed near the battle." Diao Chan smiled, gently laying her hand on his arm, and he seemed to visibly calm some. She wondered how long he would wait before he simply mounted Red Hare and rode out. It would probably do wonders for the Scavenger Demons morale as well. But the strategist made a point. As a mystery, Lu Bu and Zhang Liao were trump cards. It made sense to hide them away until the war truly started. Which at this point she thought, they could say it had started.

"Just a little while yet, my lord Lu Bu. Surely, there is a master plan where you charge the castle for Cao Cao," she said with a smile up at him. He grunted, staring opposite of her with a glare. She tried not to giggle.

Da Qiao hissed as she glared across the arena at Xiao Qiao, who was trying to learn something of the bo staff from Zhou Yu. She had jumped at the chance to leave her alone, and it seemed like Sun Ce had been waiting in some bush like a wolf to pounce on her. She turned back to him with a huff. She couldn't leave until she had really practiced with her bow. It would look impolite if she did. He was apparently waiting for somebody to spar with, and was loosening it up. It gave her a way to look at him, since he wasn't really looking at her. While he was talking to her, it was hard to look up and stretch at the same time.

"I'm hoping Taishi Ci comes. He's always the best to spar with." Da Qiao raised an eyebrow at that thought. She still remembered Sun Shang Xiang coming in saying how they fell into the stands, and had to carry one another into the infirmary.

"I'm sure," she said finally. He chuckled at that, standing up and dusting off his pants. "Why not find Gan Ning," she said after a moment of thought. "Or the Home Rider if you are up to it."

"That crazy woman? She'd fight to kill." She laughed at that. "But maybe Gan Ning. He's good ain't he?"

"I do believe he and Zhu Rong sparred on many accounts, and she even complimented him a few times."

"I'm going to assume that's a yes." He was grinning now, scratching at his neck.

"We left him under a tree, back near the wyrms." He turned back to her, and smiled.

"Thanks." He jogged off to pressure Gan Ning into a spar. She gave a sigh of relief, taking her bow towards the targets. However, she didn't get to practice long. Nobody did. As soon as Gan Ning and Sun Ce started in the ring, everybody was drawn to watch in awe. Their speed was incredible as they went at it. Sun Ce had brought along his tonfa's, Gan Ning his sword. Like with the spars she had seen with Taishi Ci, they both seemed to be going all out. Which made her wonder why he hadn't wanted to try Zhu Rong. She seemed to just be his type of sparring partner. Except, she really had to wonder what Zhu Rong would do against him. Zhu Rong didn't have such amazing speed. She was strong. She was formidable. But her speed was lacking. And Sun Ce seemed to slowly be getting quicker, forcing Gan Ning to also respond quicker. Faster. Da Qiao had no way of describing their match. She really only could watch in silent awe.

She saw Zhu Rong across the way, a hand on her hip, grinning at the match. Actually able to follow it no doubt. But it was off to the side of Zhu Rong that made her heart stop. Xiao Qiao stood in front of Zhou Yu, pointing and the two sparring and asking questions. Zhou Yu would bend down and whisper in her ear, and her little sister would giggle again. Da Qiao, behind the panic and fear, was thankful they weren't in view of Zhu Rong. She was so thankful for that at least.

_Uh oh. Xiao is in for a lecture! And Da's having a harder time not admiring Sun Ce. I'm not sure about Zhu Rong, but then I'm not good with arguments and things like that. But she'd be irritable I bet. She's hot, and probably been flying for a long time. So, while she's never really a nice person, I don't see her being too decent either at that point. So, that's my excuse. I'm hoping it works. I might have to go back and edit it. So, yes, reviews very welcome!_


	20. Chapter 20

"What, pray tell, was that?" Da Qiao hissed, yanking Xiao away into the trees.

"Um… I'm not allowed to play stupid am I?"

"Not at all," Da Qiao said, stressing each word.

"Oh. Okay, right then. Um… that was Yu helping me watch the fight?"

"Are you really so blind that you can't watch the fight? Last time I checked, your sight was as good as mine Xiao."

"What are you so upset about anyway!" Xiao Qiao almost shouted, stomping her foot. "Why can't I be friends with him?"

"I don't care about your friendship. If that was all that was developing there. But it's not, Xiao. And you know it. Don't pretend you don't feel it." Da Qiao fell back against the tree, covering her eyes before sliding down with her knees up to her chest. "Stop ignoring all of it Xiao. Stop pretending its all just going to stop at friendship with him."

Xiao blushed, staring down at her, fists clenched at her side. "Is that why you run from Sun Ce? Are you really that scared of all of this Da?"

"Yes! Yes it terrifies me Xiao! It terrifies me what could happen. It really, truly does." She let her hand fall, and she stared up to Xiao Qiao, surprisingly with little anger. "But it isn't the love I'm running from Xiao. I'd be thrilled to finally have a man to love me. To look at me the way he does."

"Then why? Why do we have to run from this? Why are you angry with it all? What's so wrong with it?"

"You really don't get it Xiao? Do you realize the culture gap, the hate we'd have to overcome on their side alone?"

"The people like us now!" the younger one cut in.

"They like our protection. Our knowledge. Not us. Ling Tong still hasn't forgiven us, Xiao. Think about _that_."

"But… he's just… he's coming around."

"You might have been able to work around that Xiao. It might not matter if you stayed. They could maybe over look you. Sun Ce is the heir to the Wu throne," Da Qiao mumbled. "They wouldn't want a Rider as their Queen. Nor am I qualified for such a position."

"You're smarter than half the bimbo's that throw themselves at him!"

"They don't care about that," she snapped. "I'm not just a wife at that point. I'm marrying the heir to the throne!"

"But… There's no but to that huh?"

"And that's just on their side. Think about the Powers Xiao! Do you really think they'd let us leave? You leave?"

"They… don't have the right to…" Xiao tried to come up with the words, falling to her knees. She could feel her chest constricting, and it was getting hard to breathe. The tears were coming.

"They won't let you leave. We are power. We represent the power that they hold. To loose us would be to loose a portion of their control, their power. They won't loose that. They'd refuse to. Do you know what that means?"

"I don't want to."

"We'd be labeled as traitors. They'd come to forcefully return us to the Home for punishment. And anything between us and them would be destroyed. And they wouldn't stop at that. They'd politically destroy Wu as well. And that means-"

"No!" Xiao Qiao braced her arms against the dirt, eyes shut tight with the sob.

"If we gave in to this feeling… none of us would want to let go," Da Qiao said finally, staring up at the tree tops to stop the tears.

"That's not fair," Xiao Qiao mumbled.

"We just… need to pull through Xiao. Things… will get better once we can separate ourselves from them. We'll be too worried about the battle to… think about such stupid things as love."

"But… I want him," Xiao Qiao sobbed. Da Qiao smiled, reaching for her and pulling her into a hug. "I really do." She wrapped her arms around her older sister, hiding her face from the world and crying. Da Qiao gently rubbed her back until she calmed. By then the sky had darkened some, and Da Qiao worried somebody might be looking for them. However, she couldn't bring herself to move her sister. She jumped to hear somebody coming, trying to come up with a quick excuse to explain their position.

Ling Tong walked over to them, for once looking generally concerned as he took them both in. At any other time, she might have smiled. Tears always seemed to throw the men off, even one like Ling Tong. But at the moment, she could only stare up at him, holding Xiao Qiao even closer against her. "Ah," he started, rubbing his neck and turning to glance at the camp. "Don't worry."

"Worry?"

"I didn't see you," he said, avoiding her brown eyes. "But… people _are_ worried. You should probably return soon." He continued off, back towards the camp. Da Qiao stared after him, brows drawn together in her confusion. But she wouldn't waste the gift given, and gently shook her little sister. It would do better not to be found, but to return normally like Ling Tong had said.

* * *

Xing Cai awoke without a sound, opening her eyes to stare at the tent. Licking her dry lips, she flexed her hands. Everything felt alright. The pain in her side was bearable. She pushed herself to sit up, glad that the world didn't spin. She glanced around, hiding the shock when she saw her father asleep in a chair. Before waking him she gently stretched to view the wound. She had been flying close to the ground, Hope using what breathe she had. Unlike Conqueror and Inferno, the average Wyrm didn't have the fire to take out hordes of demons. They couldn't hold the fire long enough and generally wasn't as hot as the two dragon wyrms. As such they usually had to get at higher speeds to do real damage against the army of Wendigo.

Hope had been retreating, pulling back up into the air, when the Wendigo fired back. Launching spears at them. Hope had taken a few, but thankfully her wings were still intact. She took one to the side, a few grazing her legs and arms. She had been terrified when they had returned the attack. Not even fazed that they were marching over their scorched allies. So long as the flames were out of course. As soon as they were in the air and steady, Xing Cai had pulled out the spear, knowing she needed to land. She didn't remember much else, except Zhao Yun and her father being there, but trusted that one of the others had taken care of Hope.

"Father," she said gently so as not to wake the other patients. She gently reached out, a hand on his arm.

He awoke with a snort and grunt, glancing around before settling his dark eyes on her. "My girl," he said with a smile. "You gave me such a fright," he groused while trying to fully wake up.

"My apologies. I had not wanted to greet you after such a long travel this way," she said with a small smile. "I had hoped to be standing."

"I can't even give you a hug," he mumbled. She gave a small laugh, staring down at the blanket. "So you've been alright down here?" he said gruffly, still trying to sound manly and tough.

"Yes Father. The start was bumpy, but the soldiers at least started to come around as soon as the threats started to appear."

"Course. You were protection." He took a sidelong glance at her, sniffing a bit. He still couldn't forget the expression from the man, Zhao Yun out of his head. He'd never been called observational, but acquaintances didn't freak like that. Could she really have made friends among the ranks? Or was he missing something?

"I am glad you made it Father," she said finally. Unsure how to respond to that, he nodded and glanced around. She smiled knowingly, much like her mother. She was so much like her mother, he thought. Which was probably for the better. It wouldn't do for a little girl to be acting like him. Looking like him. It was something he had worried about when the mystic had said they would be having a girl. Of course, his wife had coyly laughed and told him their child would be perfect. She was right too, of course. "How did the battle go?" she asked finally.

"They didn't breech the wall," he said. "And the fairy man took care of yer wyrm."

"Zhang He," she mumbled. "He has always been sweet Father. If you would just give him a chance…" She had obviously grown another head with the expression he was giving her. With a sigh, she gave up with a nod. He visibly calmed. "I will have to thank him when I see him." She turned to stare at the flap of the tent thoughtfully. Xing Cai would admit she wanted to see Zhao Yun. She had the excuse to thank him. But she worried on what the others would see and say about that. It wouldn't do for others to see how she adored him.

"Oie," he said. "Another boy came in to see you while you were out cold," he said, gauging her reaction. She spun around, and flinched with her hand on her side. "Guan something."

"Guan Ping," she supplied, and relaxed some. "He has been most friendly during my stay, Father. And his father is quite the warrior. You would like him, Father. Master Guan Yu," she explained. He nodded. They had already heard the name of the giant, and he had already decided he had wanted to meet him. He had been outside the wall fighting actually, and that amazed Zhang Fei admittedly. Not many normal men were able to withstand against the barrage of Wendigo.

"Well now that yer awake and its day, I've gotta go do my duties hun." He almost bashfully kissed her forehead before rushing out of the tent. She smiled after him, shaking her head as she lay back down. The healer hadn't come around yet, but she was getting mighty hungry and wasn't sure how long she would be able to remain quiet about it. If nothing else, another patient would wake up and start screaming. They usually did anyway.

Outside, Zhen Ji sat prettily against the fire, Zhang He next to her. She had always been slightly jealous of his ability to be friends with just about anybody, if of course they agreed. So long as they weren't offensive to any of his senses. Unlike herself, she knew. She was judgmental. Not so much on looks. She found the Wei soldier Xu Zhu to be one of the better men in the camp. And the ogre Dian Wei was even tolerable on most accounts. But she was, and she held grudges. And spiteful, she thought, cleaning her nails. She was also very spiteful. She glanced over to him when he hummed and turned to the way he was looking. Yue Ying had returned finally. "Did you find it?" she called out, smiling. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it.

"No. I lost them in the trees," the red head said with a sigh.

"Hn," Zhen Ji hummed, and Yue Ying spun around with a glare.

"Not a word from you," she hissed.

"I never get to say anything," Zhen Ji whined with added dramatics, falling on Zhang He with a huff. He of course caught her with a chuckle.

"It amazes me that the two women who have the easiest understanding of one another, hate each other," he said after a moment, watching as Yue Ying disappeared behind a tent.

"I think that might be a good reason on why we hate each other," Zhen Ji said after some thought, sitting up and flipping her hair out of her face. "Also, because she is just annoying." He smiled knowingly, but said nothing more on it, instead asking about Cao Pi. Zhen Ji gladly took the change in subject, filling him in on her newest man.

* * *

Da Qiao trailed after Zhu Rong, spread out from the others and following the Home Riders lead. Da Qiao still hadn't shaken the feeling off from Ling Tong. Or the truth. Before her talk with Xiao Qiao, she had been able to push the feelings away. Deny them even. But, for the sake of her sister, she had to acknowledge the truth in them. And to be honest, it hurt. Beauty had noticed, though probably didn't understood. Wyrms killed anything in the way of their potential mate. It was a horrific thing to watch as the beasts tore not only at each other but their surroundings when they fought and mated. Da Qiao had only seen partial of one before, and it had been more than enough to understand.

She pulled more at the mask around her face, keeping the cold air off of her sensitive skin. When burning war zones, they were usually slow enough that it wasn't always needed. But traveling was different. She glanced to her left to see Gan Ning in all his glory. He almost seemed to lay on Conqueror, between the spikes. Conqueror gave off rumbles, puffing smoke lightly at times. Ahead of her some was Xiao Qiao, whose braided hair flapped in the wind. More than once on relaxing rides she had seen her sister sit straight up, her arms spread wide and head craned back to the sky with laughter. None of it was there today. Even Gan Ning had asked about the usually chipper Qiao's state of depression. Da Qiao said she couldn't comment on it, and that was enough for the warrior. Da Qiao could only hope that an excuse could be thought up when Zhu Rong decided to speak up about it.

Zhu Rong swooped down and they followed in a graceful arc, flying dangerously close to the tree tops. Closer to the ground, she could faintly hear the marching men. But even that was disappearing as they flew. Da Qiao had never liked flying this low. But of course her opinion and fears were of no consequence at the moment. Zhu Rong thought it was best, and they would follow. She saw it from the side, the quick movements of the Wendigo scattering. They must have been planning an ambush, Da Qiao thought, watching as Inferno twisted in the air and spewed flames across the wet wood. Some of the Wendigo screamed, and they followed example by giving chase to some, making sure they scattered. Inferno hovered over the area, flying in circles to monitor for a moment, as they usually did after burning an area. It almost felt like old times, she thought with a sad smile. The trees hadn't burned too well, but that hadn't been their intention anyway.

The red flags came into view, and Zhu Rong gave them a salute before taking off again to scan the area ahead. She doubted they even saw the salute, but again, it didn't matter. Swallowing her emotions, and refusing to look back to the army, she fell back into formation, again leaning down against Beauty for better speed. Too many doubts and negative feelings would drag down both Beauty's and her own skills and reaction time. And she couldn't have that. Especially not if she wanted them to live. Him to live.

_Do you guys prefer when I put a break there for you (the lines) or do you not care? Because I'll start if it really helps you read through it or something. I just usually don't care. And I put a name up so you know when the scene changes. But yea, if it helps I'll start. _

_And, my rant: I've written a little piece for Overlord (awesome game in my opinion) and its shorter than the average chapter for my chapter fics here on DW. Do you know that my visiotrs is over 300 for that little fic. Seriously, over 300. No lie. And I have 4 reviews for it. I usually don't let the visitor and review ratio bother me too much (though I do check and I do get a little pissy sometimes! It's not that hard guys!) but that one blows my mind away. Seriously, wtf! 300 people..._

_... Reviews are appreciated. _


	21. Chapter 21

Zhu Rong stared into the fire that roasted the meat the hunters had brought in. While most of the food was supplies brought, and in the winter there was little game, they had caught something that night. Much to the appreciation of the Home Rider. She'd always loved her meat. Most of the men had taken to avoiding her. She was more forceful than their warrior women, something that put most men off. She accepted that. It was the usual reaction she got to her attitude. Besides, men didn't like it when they were called useless. The truth usually hurt.

She glanced up to see some of the men staring at her, whispering to themselves. That wasn't new either. With such dark tanned skin and hair such a pale blonde, she often was the object of whispers and stares. It almost saddened her that the men of Wu were so normal. Not to mention she was cursed with large breasts, something most men found quite fascinating. It had been getting cooler lately, something she admitted she was enjoying. She hadn't been lying when she said she couldn't stand hot weather. She leaned back to stretch, slightly shocked when Goat Face sat near her, albeit warily.

She had met his sister and had to admit she was alright. At least she was out on the battlefield. So she wondered what really bothered Goat Face. He obviously was used to snappy, bitchy women. His sister was much like Zhu Rong was when she was much younger. Zhu Rong knew she was old; most people didn't live to see fifty. But being linked with Inferno made her impervious to most diseases, and if she didn't die in this war, she would probably live to become very old and wrinkled. Which she would take full advantage of to yell at the younger Riders how she did it back in the day. If she lived to grow old she would probably traumatize the youngsters. She looked forward to it.

"I wanted to apologize for… upsetting you," he said finally, obviously still unsure what he did that pissed her off.

"Really?"

"It's a heartfelt apology ma'am," he said with a charming smile.

Zhu Rong smirked, leaning on her knees to actually look at him for the first time. He wasn't like some prince's she had seen before. She had traveled a lot over her many years as a Rider. Over the mountain and over these lands as well. Most heirs weren't fighters. They didn't look like they'd worked before, or held a sword in a real fight. But she'd already seen Goat Face go against Gan Ning, and the two had basically fallen over at the end, declaring a truce in the way of man. Which was grunt and just leave to go get patched up. Goat Face had been winning. "Alright then. I guess I need to accept that heartfelt apology."

"You do my heart good, ma'am," he said with a chuckle. "Do you think the Scavenger Demons will attack before we reach Wei?"

"I'm quite sure of it," she said, sobering up quickly. "Right now they are attacking Wei. The closer we get, the more likely we are to run into them. Zhuge Liang, one of our more adored Powers, actually came up with a plan to keep the Wendigo all around and bashing against Wei. Doesn't mean the freaks ain't going to spot us early on. And they're angry. Very angry right now."

"So, this Zhuge Liang angered the Scavenger Demons to attack Wei so that we'd have a slightly easier time getting to Wei."

"Glad to you got it," Zhu Rong said, scratching behind her ear, taking a stick and poking the meat. "Good to know that Wu will be in the hands of somebody you can repeat what was just said to them. I am sure the Powers will be delighted to hear that." She raised an eyebrow at him, and he actually laughed. She smiled back, deciding that just maybe, Goat Face was alright. As long as he knew his place. But that could be said about most people.

Ling Tong stood off to the side, pointedly avoiding the woman with the knockers. He had only one run in with her, which had been a little awkward at first. He had no idea what to say to her, after she had basically stripped and then told off their prince. And for men who had only Sun Shang Xiang, and two Riders to look at since they left Wu, that was cruel and unusual punishment from the heavens. So when he ended up talking to her, after she was finished with Zhou Yu who came out looking a little scared, Ling Tong sort of panicked. Not that he did. Not in front of a woman, let alone a Rider. He just, almost panicked.

And, since he was almost panicking, he said the first things that came to mind. Which happened to be something slightly derogative and lewd. But she was the one walking around practically shirtless and- Ling Tong stopped himself there with a glare sent her way. He would admit the woman had a good right hook. If he was to judge, probably better than Sun Shang Xiang's. But it had been awhile since the princess had hit him. He was going for a record. He turned away when Sun Ce laughed, dragging his feet as he went. He jumped when he saw Da Qiao running through the camp, Xiao Qiao near one of the tents fixing her boot before stumbling into a run after her elder sister.

He had found during their travels that the two sisters were rather hard to hate. Especially after saving the camp from the few Scavenger Demon raids. Especially the younger one. She just was… annoying, Ling Tong thought with a glare when she waved at him. It wasn't as chipper as it usually was, and that shouldn't have bothered him. He glared at her until she disappeared. She was just lively. Something fresh in the stale camp. Her sister as well, when somebody actually made her join a conversation or react to something.

It wasn't that he liked them. He refused to like Riders. But hating them just seemed almost evil. He felt like the bad guy when he snapped at them and made that small pout form on their lips, their eyes averting from his face. He wasn't supposed to the bad guy, he thought with a sigh, moving to his tent. That didn't mean he felt any different towards the man. Gan Ning, the bastard. He was still a horrible asswipe. Scum of the earth. That man was what Riders were supposed to be. Even that Home Rider. If all of the Riders were like those two, he could probably have gone on hating them and not feel like such a sleaze. He shook his head, giving a final glare to the forms of the wyrms off to the side of camp, jumping when one, the largest- Inferno raised its head.

For a moment, Ling Tong thought it was glaring back at him, its bright eyes glowing with the silver moon light. He held his breathe, staring in return. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Zhu Rong gave a yell for her Riders, swinging around. It was a heroic image, the way her hair flew around her and the fire light flickered behind her. Sun Ce stood up as well, but the time he had finished asking his question, she was gone. Dashing towards Inferno with a determined expression. Sun Ce called to his soldiers, preparing for battle. Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao came running from where ever they had gone, passed him without a glance. Conqueror was already on his feet, Gan Ning mounted. The man had probably been sleeping in a tree above the wyrm. Ling Tong slipped into his tent, pulling out his spear and readying himself for the fight. It was sure to be bloody.

He wasn't far from the truth. Zhu Rong was caught on the ground, Inferno taking to the sky without her. She dodged a swipe from the claw, gracefully stepping back and side stepping. She tossed her knives with expertly, the small blade landing in the monsters eye. She didn't stop there, pulling out more daggers and flinging them with precision. Each hit their mark, usually the eye, and a few in the throat. Hitting vital areas, the monsters stopped just long enough, howling, for her to escape towards the camp fire where the meat still roasted. She grabbed the end of the pole, swinging it at the Wendigo. The wild boar flew off of it, knocking one monster off of its feet. Quickly lighting the pole, she threw it like a spear, embedding another to catch on fire.

She laughed then, her arms spread wide as the monsters encircled her almost cautiously. Sun Ce being forced to her back, wishing he had his weapon on him. "Get down, Goat Face," she said, reached to her large bone boomerang. She had been able to get it from Inferno before she had been yanked from the saddle. Her leg still throbbed. Not that she let anybody know. Sun Ce listened to her falling to his knees as he felt the magic. The same pull as when he had first seen Xiao Qiao with her bow and arrows. Zhu Rong gave a war cry, throwing out the boomerang. As it left her hand the blade caught on fire, slicing through the Wendigo with newfound ease.

The monsters fell with cries of anguish, the smell of their rotten flesh burning at such a close range making Sun Ce pull his shirt up to cover his nose, breathing through his mouth. Zhu Rong had acted similarly, pulling out a bandana from the pocket of her shorts and tying it around her face before catching her boomerang with a giddy laugh. Sun Ce rose, eyeing the withering bodies and flaying limbs. "No mercy," Sun Ce mumbled, again feeling wary of the woman who laughed as she made her way towards the sound of battles. He glanced up, flaming arrows falling from the sky downwards into the camp. They would loose more tents, and provisions from this battle. Fire was a double edged sword. Keeping his jacket and shirts over his nose and mouth, he ran where his spear was waiting.

He was able to make it to his spear with little hassle. Especially after following Zhu Rong for half of the trip to the tent. The woman was amazingly efficient in massacring the monsters. He reached for his spear, launching himself beside it in the dirt when he heard the tearing of the tent fabric. The Scavenger Demons were eerily silent when on their own. No roar of warning, or even the sound of the earth beneath its feet. Sun Ce did a somersault to his feet, using his spear to keep himself from tangling in the collapsing tent. He was on his feet, but not in time. Using his spear to stop the deadly claws from reaching precious skin- it wasn't like he was in full armor- he was thrown back and his spear went flying. Consequently hitting another Scavenger Demon in the area, but Sun Ce paid that howl no mind. He kept his attention on the monster that advanced towards him.

He stood no chance without some sort of weapon. His caught the glint of the fire off of the blade of his spear. The torches and what had caught on fire during the battle. Would other people notice if he called on the magic? Did it matter? He rolled away from the claws of the monster as it lunged for him. Calling on what he practiced, he saw the torch he was reaching burn hotter, leaning towards him. The monster was behind him, he could feel the claws digging into his calf, yanking him back. He spun around out of instinct, the white hot pain overpowering the other thoughts.

Following his hand the flame caught onto the Scavenger Demons head. It tossed him aside, tearing at the wound in his leg as it gave a pitiful wail. It fell to the ground, clawing at its face as the rest of the body began to be engulfed. Sun Ce righted himself quickly, holding the wound on his leg to try and stem the blood flow. The other monsters circled him warily, eyeing their yelling comrade. Sun Ce pulled at some of the flames on the monster, using it to defend himself until he safely tied some of the cloth that had been his pants around the wound. Taking hold of his spear, lighting the tip, he let the adrenaline wash away the pain and charged.

Sun Ce only realized how drained he was when his legs collapsed beneath him. He gave a yell as his leg protested, throbbing painfully. His make shift bandaged was soaked through, blood dribbling down the side of his leg. His shirt was no more, scratches creating a maze across his body. None as bad as the one on his calf, but the light trails of blood told him enough. If he hit the ground, he was likely to get them all infected. And that could mean an amputation of his leg.

He used his spear to keep himself from falling face first, stretching out his injured leg, grinding his teeth to the pain. Over the pounding blood in his ears he could hear the wails of the dying. Some belonging to the Scavenger Demons, some belonging to his comrades. He let his head fall back to stare at the smoke filled sky, and let out a yell. A warriors cry. A roar. The pain, the misery, he reflected. It'd be rather easy to give up and collapse on the ground. But then, he thought, glancing at Taishi Ci who was stumbling in and Ling Tong sitting up, Wu wasn't a kingdom to cry over a simple mountain. Taishi Ci nodded when he looked his way, and Ling Tong waved at him. No, the warriors of Wu were going to _take_ that mountain, Sun Ce thought, forcing himself to stand again while trying to stifle a wail of pain.

_Little bit shorter than usual. And pretty forced to write. Hope its a decent chapter. Tried to make the fighting seem gruesome and tough. Not sure how well I did that, but I don't think I made it sound easy (except for Zhu Rong there at the beginning, but again, at the beginning she'd have the advantage of knowing how to deal with it. She wouldn't be exhausted yet and what not. And such a long range weapon would make it easier) So yes, reviews highly appreciated. They'll be getting to Wei soon enough. Probably somewhere in the next chapter._


	22. Chapter 22

"Oh stop being such a wuss," Sun Shang Xiang said a hand on her hip. Ling Tong sat with his arm extended, a doctor pulling out some of the teeth from the Scavenger Demons. He had hit it enough it's teeth had been knocked loose. Zhu Rong had said that was the only reason he was going to keep his arm. He had panicked a little at those words, demanding to be one of the first to see the doctor. Sun Shang Xiang of course was there, and pestering him.

"You know, I didn't see you running around punching the monsters in the face," he said with a sneer up at her, eyes narrowing. She gave an indignant gasp, a pained expression on her face. Damn, he thought. He touched close to home. She'd been using her bow and arrow for most of the fight, her ankle still a little tender. She threw her hand back, looking like she was about to punch him. He loosened up, waiting for it. It was usually better to just go with the punch. It hurt less then fighting it. Sun Quan came over, however, and grabbed her hand.

"He is being bandaged," he said coolly, and she glared over at him as well. The doctor had stilled with a sort of detached look. He had probably seen more then he had ever wanted to in his entire life. Honestly, watching the Wu Princess slug a man in the jaw was the least of his worries anymore. He just didn't want to pull on Ling Tong's arm when he went flying. Damaging his patient was not something he would ever do, personally. But Sun Shang Xiang read it as fear and with tears in her eyes turned and stomped off, ignoring her ankle.

"Lord Sun Quan," Ling Tong said, ready to kiss up for that act. But Sun Quan had already turned. The prince himself was already bandaged up. He was waiting for Zhou Tai, who honestly Ling Tong had thought might have needed to have been sewn back together like some patchwork doll. A zombie vassal for Sun Quan or something. Somehow though the ex-pirate still seemed highly dangerous and imposing when he had basically been drug in for the doctors to look at. Ling Tong admitted that was pretty much awesome.

However, seated next to Zhou Tai was Gan Ning. He hadn't been horribly damaged. The worst part being when he had thought it safe to land Conqueror. Conqueror himself was fine. The dragon had basically wiggled and thrashed the Scavenger Demons away. But Gan Ning, already half off, flew over the Scavenger Demons and landed against a tree. It hadn't been a nice sound. Lu Meng had been close enough to help Gan Ning until the Rider was able to move again. It seemed the two were actually having a conversation. However one had a conversation with Zhou Tai. Mostly Gan Ning making some sort of smart remark and Zhou Tai seeming to give a one word response that usually seemed to please the Rider. Gan Ning actually laughed a few times.

Ling Tong didn't understand why or how Zhou Tai was able to act as such with the Rider. Not that he really understood the ex-pirate anyway. But that wasn't the point. He didn't understand how people were cozying up to the Riders. They were killers. They were mercenaries. They weren't their friends. They weren't brother's in arms. They were simply there to keep their money cows alive. But there Zhou Tai was. Almost having a possibly real conversation with one Rider. The worst of them all (he wasn't sure where exactly Zhu Rong was yet. She kept getting moved around on the list). Ling Tong glanced at Sun Quan, and thought he saw a similar expression to his own there. Sun Quan apparently didn't like them either. Ling Tong sort of wondered why. He hadn't seen too much interaction between him and them.

Gan Ning let the doctor finish poking at his ribs before sliding off of the table they had set up and gave a tentative stretch, ignoring the doctors disapproving looks. He gave a head nod and a wave to Zhou Tai, who bowed his head in return, before making his way back. He wasn't really sure how he was going to get a shirt on. Some of his ribs were broken the doctor had said. Doctor had said he wasn't going to be doing jack shit for a while. Gan Ning had been a little surprised at the doctor's language, but it was humorous more then anything.

So he made his way out into the freezing cold, huddling around himself. He spotted his girls- they were his until otherwise stated- and made his way over. "Help me with my shirt," he said. Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao glanced up at him, dropping some of the rubble they had been moving. The men wouldn't let them near the bodies but they had insisted on doing something. They had remained on their Wyrms until the end.

"If you insist," Da Qiao muttered, reaching for his shirt that he had sort of wrapped around himself, and Xiao Qiao giggled as she took the other layers. And they made their way to Gan Ning's tent. "What happened?"

"Ribs broke again," Gan Ning said, teeth chattering.

"Fantastic," Da Qiao said with a sigh, opening the tent flap so he could get in a little bit easier. "Do you ever not get hurt?"

"It's a guy thing I think," Xiao Qiao whispered. "If they don't get hurt in a fight that isn't almost fatal somehow, then they loose points."

"Points to what?"

"Manliness." Da Qiao stared at her. Mostly because she could actually see that as the truth. Gan Ning gave a cough, which he instantly regretted, but dared not show that. The two girls turned back to him with a sigh and started to dress him. "We're going to have to see if Xing Cai has finally mastered healing."

"Or at least is able to heal more then a bruise," Da Qiao muttered. "If she has, she is your newest girl."

"Probably," Gan Ning said through clenched teeth, eyes closed. Healing was a different kind of magic altogether. Nobody could figure out where it came from, so teaching it was difficult. But Xing Cia had shown skill in it. In fact, she naturally healed herself with it. Not that it mattered. It wasn't like she got injured a lot. So everybody had been trying to figure it out since she had healed her broken ankle when she was thirteen. Da Qiao prayed she had a bit more grasp on it. They would be at a disadvantage without Gan Ning.

Finally dressed, Gan Ning stood with a grunt. "You shouldn't be moving," Xiao Qiao said, wagging a finger at him.

"I just got dressed," he hissed, "I am not sitting in my tent."

"I bet its killer just to move," Xiao Qiao said, reverting back to their language, hands on her hips.

"I ain't spending the time in the tent anymore," he said with such finality that Xiao Qiao leaned back on her heels, eyes wide.

"Just damage yourself further," Da Qiao said with a shrug, shaking her head. "It's only the war on the line." She grabbed her sister's arm and left the tent, not looking back. Gan Ning was left standing in his tent, staring at the flap with a shocked expression. That was not expected. Gan Ning felt himself deflate, shoulders sagging.

"You okay Da?" Xiao Qiao asked, still in their natural tongue.

"I am perfectly fine. I am just tired, and am unwilling to participate in his stupidity," Da Qiao said, letting out the air she had been holding, coming to a stop. Xiao Qiao stepped beside her, holding her arm with a smile. Both of them were ready to go home. Both of them were so very tired.

Zhou Yu, who was trying to figure out how to get enough able bodies to start cleaning up, stared after the two wistfully. At some point Xiao Qiao had gone from being somewhat shy, but still very much attentive to him, had suddenly done a one-eighty and split on him. And it hurt enough that he wasn't sure how to approach her. Especially since she had started avoiding him. He knew it had something to do with Da Qiao. He knew she had something to do with it, because it was exactly how Da Qiao tried to treat Sun Ce. He wasn't even so sure as to handle her. And he knew anymore he had to get passed Da Qiao to get to Xiao Qiao. Which meant he needed Sun Ce. Who was currently getting stitches for his leg. Damn it all, Zhou Yu thought, running his hand through his hair and turning away from the girls. Forget love, he mouthed, throwing his hands in the air as he walked away. Live through the war and then go live alone. That was his new plan. Go live on a nice warm mountain somewhere. Maybe take up a pupil, learn some farming. Become one of those Wise Men that people go to for advice. That was a good plan.

Taishi Ci, who seemed more just one giant anymore, made his way over to Zhou Yu, feeling a little cautious what with the expression on Zhou Yu's face. "Sir," Taishi Ci said, warily standing in front of him.

"What? Taishi Ci? What can I do for you?" Zhou Yu said with a forced smile.

"Lord Sun Jian has asked for you."

"Thank you," Zhou Yu said with a slight bow before hurrying off. Taishi Ci glanced back to see Xiao Qiao staring after Zhou Yu, her frown pulling at his heart. Fate, Taishi Ci though, had as funny a way of working as love was fickle.

*

Xing Cai stretched her sides, happy to feel no pain, only the pull of the newly healed skin. Not to say she was feeling up to flipping off of Hope just yet, but she felt better. Crunching through the snow, she tried to avoid both her Father and Guan Ping. Both had become overbearing. And she had to make sure when she was around Zhou Yun to remain respectful and polite. She wasn't overtly worried about her father noticing some subtle differences, but the Powers would notice. They seemed to have knowing gazes and hard hearts.

She glanced up to hear the sounds of cheers. Pushing back her hood, she walked over to the crowd, glancing around. Ma Chao was off to the side a bit, and made his way over. "Your friend," he said, pointing to Zhang He, "was scouting. Apparently Wu isn't that far off. He only caught site of the wyrms, and it was far enough that the marching army will take some time, but it's worth a cheer or three."

"That is wonderful news," she said with a nod of her head, giving him a small smile. "We will only have to hold off until they arrive." He nodded again, though he didn't appear as happy as most of the soldiers. He was smart enough not to get caught up, because the handsome blonde turned away from the crowd to stare out towards the north, where the Wendigo's were thought to reside. Xing Cai understood what he was feeling.

_I did it. Now I need to work on _Names_ and keep up with _Apartment_ and we'll be all good. So Zhou Yu is experiencing what we would now call Cock blocking. Not a nice experience, I've been told. And Xing Cai will have her work cut out for her once Gan Ning arrives. Once he learns that he can get injured that get healed, you just know he's going to totally go all out. We're slowly coming to the climax I believe. This is definitely been a long read. Hope it's been worth it for all of you. On my Microsoft Word it's about 100 page. Also, updated my profile and poll. Reviews appreciated.  
_


	23. Chapter 23

Sun Ce sat in the back of the wagon, legs stretched out, and grimacing every time the wagon bounced. The Scavenger Demon didn't rip any tendon, and the doctor said so long as he didn't infect it or strain it, he'd only get a scar as a souvenir. Which meant he was pretty much useless until it healed some. Sun Shang Xiang sat across from him, still complaining about Ling Tong. He was almost ready to tell her shut up. Not quite ready yet, but it was coming.

Sun Jian walked over to the wagon, hosting himself up to look past his children to the others who couldn't ride. "Everything ready to go then, kids?" he asked.

"Yep. They keep groaning," Sun Shang Xiang said, pointing to the men laid in the wagon. "That's a sign that everything is normal right?" Sun Ce kicked at her with his good leg and she yelped. She went to kick back but her father stepped in.

"Well then, we'll be on our way. Sun Shang Xiang, remember your brother is in serious care right now."

"He'll be fine. He always is," she said with a wave of her hand, swinging her legs over to hop out of the wagon before Sun Jian, grinning. The older man nodded and made his way around towards his horse. "You better be okay, at any rate," she said off handedly.

"Why? Then you'd be left with Sun Quan all alone?"  
"Damn straight," she said with a laugh and walked off. Sun Ce chuckled, reclining to a more comfortable position and waiting. The wagon jerked forward, he almost falling over, and he turned to watch behind them. Miles away he saw the wyrms take off to the sky. He glanced over to see Zhou Yu making his way towards him, hoisting himself up into the wagon with a grunt.

"You got a horse. Quite mooching off of my ride," Sun Ce said, kicking at him the same way he had Sun Shang Xiang.

"Quiet. You'll wake the others," Zhou Yu said, swatting at Sun Ce's boot.

"As if you really care."

"But I do. I care for the health of my comrades."

"We're in a goddamn wagon. They aren't getting much sleep whether I'm talking or not." The two stare at each other until the wagon jerked again and Zhou Yu had to hold onto the side to keep from flying. Zhou Yu glared over at Sun Ce, who simply smirked. "So, why exactly are you hitching a ride?"

"Women problems," Zhou Yu said, running a hand through his hair. It was almost back to his usual length, falling past his shoulders with a glossy shine. Only Zhou Yu could be on the battlefield for months and still have hair that rivaled the courtesans back home.

"And you want to talk here?" Sun Ce said, an eyebrow raised.

"Of course not. But you know we're short on horses anymore. I lent mine to Zhou Tai. I'd hate to make Sun Quan walk," Zhou Yu said with a smirk, and Sun Ce chuckled. "No. I figured I'd just ride with you. And think about how I'm going to start the topic."

"Gotta practice your lines and everything huh?"

"Quite right."

**

Zhen Ji was fixing her hair into her hood, keeping it tight as she covered all her skin. To her side Xing Cai and Zhang He were also getting ready. Yue Ying stood beside her husband speaking to him in low tones. Zhuge Liang nodded once again, dropping his feathered fan into his hand as he stepped forward to them. "You all remember your goal?"

"Try and find their base," Zhen Ji said, making sure her gloves were tight and then going to her boots and making sure her pants were stuffed in them.

"If you are spotted you are not to fight," he said again, eyes narrowing at her as she raised her head.

"As if I would _want_ to take on the full Wendigo army with a green horn," Zhen Ji huffed, jerking her chin to Xing Cai, who was glad her face was covered to hide her blush. The Lords had come to watch, though since they were conversing in their natural tongue they simply watched on.

"Well now, since we have everything," Zhang He said, stepping in, "why don't we get going? I would hate to be caught out there in anything other than bright day light."

"Very well." Zhuge Liang bowed to them, spreading his arms wide. Yue Ying followed course, and they all hoisted themselves up onto their wyrms and took off as soon as them two were back with the lords. Yue Ying let out the breath she had been holding and turned to the lords.

"Now we just wait?" Liu Bie asked, smiling.

"But of course, good lord," Zhuge Liang said with a nod, glancing back to the sky momentarily.

"How will you know if something happens?" Cao Cao asked, eyes narrowing.

"Two of the three gone have a separate connection to our Second," Zhuge Liang said, turning to Cao Cao.

"And who is this Second?" Cao Cao said.

"You have met him," Zhuge Liang said. With that he was done, stepping away, Yue Ying and Zhang Jiao following. Cao Cao gritted his teeth, glaring at their backs. Liu Bie bowed his goodbye and made his way around to where his generals were conversing. Zhuge Liang had been getting worried since they hadn't seen many of the Scavenger Demons as of late. Which, if he was worrying it meant nothing good for themselves, Liu Bie thought with a small frown.

"My lord!" Zhao Yun said, bowing his head to him as Liu Bie came into the clearing. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were sitting across from each other, a beer in Zhang Fei's hand as they spoke none too quietly. Zhao Yun glanced over at them as well, smiling. "Zhang Fie has come to respect our great Guan Yu, my lord."

"It is hard not to, isn't it?" Liu Bie said with a laugh and Zhao Yun nodded. "Zhao Yun, you have always proven to be an intelligent, insightful man. What do you make of this," Liu Bie said, pointing to the walls.

"I can only assume they are trying to make us worry. Make us sweat and stress until we make a mistake. Whatever happened before that had angered them so, they have calmed now. They will no longer attack like beasts, I imagine. Again, it will be the hard battles against monstrous strength and human intelligence."

Liu Bie stared at the stone wall, giving a sigh. "That was not what I was hoping to hear," he said, glancing back to smile at his most trusted general.

"My apologies my lord," Zhao Yun said, not able to match that sad smile. Liu Bie nodded and turned back to the wall.

**

"Are you supposed to be walking?" Zhou Yu asked Sun Ce as the man hobbled around, testing his legs. Zhou Yu was no medical expert, but he was sure that wasn't good for the prince. Especially in the snow and ice. Sun Ce waved his comment away, watching the ground, probably actually caring and looking for said ice. "It's your ass."

"And a fine one at that," Sun Ce muttered, slipping a little and letting out a hiss. "So what's your womanly problems man? I thought I was the only lucky one."

"You were. Until Da somehow convinced Xiao to think the on the same thought process," Zhou Yu grumbled, dropping his chin into his hand. Sun Ce stilled then, turning and glancing over at him with a sympathetic frown. "I was getting somewhere," Zhou Yu said finally, the sentence coming out more as a whine then a general statement.

"I keep telling myself they have a good reason."

"I can guess that reason," Zhou Yu said, leaning back now, "but I don't want that to stop us."

"Tell me."

"Cultural differences," Zhou Yu said. "It is only obvious."

Sun Ce glared at him for that. "We could overcome that."

"Maybe me," Zhou Yu said a little sadly. "But you're the prince, Ce. Think about it. Maybe Da doesn't want to be a queen. Or doesn't want you to have to fight all of that. I'm just a strategist. Your best friend. I can probably get away with a crazy foreign wife or two. You've got a lot stricter standards to keep up."

Sun Ce gritted his teeth, walking away a few paces. Zhou Yu breathed into his hands, ignoring the thud of Sun Ce punching a tree. Sun Ce then hobbled back, his knuckles red, and glared down at Zhou Yu. "Fine," Sun Ce said, his breathe coming out in puffs, "I'm going to go talk to the little lady."

"Ce…" Zhou Yu said warningly, quickly standing.

"No. I'm sorting all this shit out before we get to Wei and she starts hanging out with her buddies from the north. We'll never get any alone time then. I'm getting this shit done now. You go to civil stuff so it won't look as suspicious." Sun Ce spun on his good heel and hobbled back towards camp, still looking quite rigid and angry. Zhou Yu swallowed his fears and made his way in after his best friend. Best to do what he advised, than get them caught trying to convince the Riders to let them court them. Better to let people know that probably after they have the girls' permission.

_I realize Sun Ce seems a little out of character there at the end (possibly). But he's probably in pain and a little desperate at this point. Anyway, this is shorter than the usual chapters by about a page, but ya'll will be fine. I like Zhou Yu in this one. I seem to have finally given him some more character I feel. And given him some fun interaction with Sun Ce. I always feel bad since I don't do their bromance very often. But I think it'd be fun, but I always don't feel like I portray it right. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little chapter. Reviews appreciated._


	24. Chapter 24

Da Qiao sat in her tent, meditating. It helped with the magic. She had no power, and storing it during mediation helped her call large quantities of it when she was in need. Not that she often was, but it was always better safe than sorry. Besides, it calmed her nerves. Keeping her breathing steady, she fell into the deep calm. She could still feel Beauty. Just outside of her senses. That was fine. She didn't need Beauty right now.

Then her flap was opened and she fell back to stare at the stern eyes of Sun Ce. Hiding her shock behind the calm façade she could usually call, she tried to sit up without looking too awkward. "Milord, that is-"

"Improper, I know," he bit out, looking angry and stressed. "I need you to come with me."

"Pardon?"

"Offical war business," he said, jerking his head to the side. A movement that told her to move. She got to her feet, following behind him. By the time she realized that he wasn't leading her to his father's tent they were already in the tree line. She grew hostile in her fear.

"What is the meaning of this?" she snapped, hands on her hips.

"I wanted to talk. Privately," he said, matching her glare evenly.

"There is nothing to talk about."

"I beg to differ." She glared harder up at him. Of course, it didn't seem to faze him in the least. "We need to talk about… us." Even he acknowledged that sounded awkward, she noted.

"There never was an 'us'. Never."

"See, you need to stop lying about this. It's not helping your case any."

"Excuse me?"

"If there hadn't ever been an 'us', you wouldn't be acting like such a bitch about it all," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Da Qiao saw red. Sun Ce didn't wait for her though. "Yes. I'm no longer being nice about this. We're going to figure us out. Yes, us. You're going nowhere until I get some straight answers."

She slapped him. It didn't particularly hurt. Especially after having his leg almost torn off. The surprise factor was what made him lean back and hold his jaw, staring down at her. She held her hand, which throbbed as bad as his cheek did, and glared up at him. "You, sir, have no right to talk to me like that."

"I've tried being nice about it, Da," he said, crossing his arms.

"And I've politely told you to drop the subject, idea, whatever it is that's motivating you, and to leave me alone." She was not in the mood.

"Don't make this a back and forth conversation, Da," he bit out. "That is going to make this unproductive and boring."

"As if I really care how entertaining this is for you!" She refused to cry.

"I need to know and understand," he said, deflating and losing all the hostility. Shoulders slumping. "I need to. It's not just a want to anymore, Da. And Zhou Yu is pulling his hair out over this… whatever is happening. Nobody wants him bald, Da. We've already had him have to chop it off to his shoulders. I think all of Wu would cry if he became bald."

She refused to laugh at that as well. Though the corner of her mouth still kicked up a bit as she stared up at him. "Not a want anymore?" she asked, quoting him, fear setting in. Had they not cut the link right?

"I still sometimes… feel you. And I've… done magic before," he admitted. "During the last raid, I summoned some fire from a torch to help against the Scavengers. Might be the only reason I still have two legs."

"We… opened your gates," she said, legs giving out, collapsing in the snow. Sun Ce was quickly down beside her, worry etched into his features. "By the… We have broken almost every law. And… you still sense me?"

"Sometimes," he mumbled, shrugging. "When I'm panicking, or stressed. Angry beyond belief."

"During the stronger, heightened emotions."

"Yes."

She closed her eyes, and he knew without knowing how she was searching for him. Trying to find how he was able to pull for her. When her eyes snapped open she pointed a finger at him accusingly. "You created a supremely sloppy link!"

"Unintentionally, if that makes it better?"

"It does not! This mess started because of a mistake so much like _this_! Could you not leave alone what was barely being grown, created? Could you not have let me be?"

"No."

His answer, so sure, so definitive, made her stop, searching his expression, touching the link and trying to find some sort of falter in him, anything that said that had been a lie. When she found none she dropped her face into her hands and gave a long groan. "No no no no no!"

"If I was to break the link again… you'd try to remake it again wouldn't you?"

"Probably. It'd be more intentional, so I'd probably fail." He shrugged, stretching his leg out and flinching. "If that's any consolation."

Her eyes trailed down to his leg, a frown pulling at her full lips. "What is it you needed to talk about, Sun Ce?"

It was funny, he thought, to hear his name from her. But he still liked it. "Why you're running from all of this. What I can do to change your mind. To make you give me a chance."

"I should tell you no," she mumbled, feeling the tears swelling. "I should tell you to go away. To never talk to me again. I should."

"Please don't."

She wiped away the tears before they could fall, staring into the tree line. She couldn't look at him. "I shouldn't want to… I shouldn't want this. This is against every law we have. Fraternizing with… you."

"You haven't given in too easily." She would have glared at him if she had the nerve to look at him. "Are you going to push me away again, Da?"

"You have to promise me…things. And Lord Zhou Yu will have to as well."

"Of course."

"Promise me that nobody will know. It cannot reach Zhuge Liang, or Zhu Rong. Anybody. Promise me that you will always trust me. And promise that… you won't make me promise anything more than today." She looked at him then, wiping the tears again.

His heart hurt when she said that sentence. It was a warning, a promise, maybe a threat. "I promise." She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. This was wrong, she thought. But then he reached for her, setting her in his lap and captured her lips. She decided for once she would stop thinking so much, stop worrying so much, and give him today. Tomorrow she would worry about later.

_So, I was going to wait until I had a normal length chapter for you guys. (four pages, more or less). This one ends up barely touching three pages. It's pretty darn short. I'm not sure how much I like it. I mean, I like it, but I'm thinking Da gives in too easily. But then, she's been battling this relationship since chapter 2 there abouts (not going to go check). So, I mean, here she might be given in too easily, but finally being confronted by it, unable to run, she caved in. At least, that's sorta what I was going for. Anyway, really short chapter. Sorta sweet. I'll try to put in some Yu Xiao smut in the next chapter since they got nothing but a mention. _

_Reviews loved.  
_


End file.
